A Morning in a Fort

"Hey Mom, let's build a fort!"

These are the six words that directed the activities of the morning.  Gathering blankets and pillows, moving furniture, and building walls from blocks and duplos.  Then onto choosing books and our stuffed animal "snuggly" friends to share our tiny, very warm, living room fort.  (It was very hot and humid in the house - no A/C.)

It isn't every morning that I make the conscious choice to just play.  Most mornings I try to create a blend of my have-to's, my want-to's, and CB's play plans.  And usually I get the carpet vacuumed, or half a load of laundry done accompanied by a twinge of something uncomfortable.
This morning, laying in the fort, listening to CB read books to me, pretending to be the mommy, and hearing H's baby coos, I was able to put a word to that nasty twinge: regret.

Regret for not just enjoying my kids, too distracted by the mundane.  Regret for not always following down the path where childhood whimsy leads.  Regret for not being as connected to my kids as I could be.

We stuffed more into that fort than it seemed there was room for - stuffed animals, juice boxes, books, blankets, a boppy, a baby, and a little table.  But....there was no regret in that fort.

Thanks to Steady Mom's 30 Minute Blog Challenge for the inspiration on this post.