Too Cold Outside? Try The Alphabet Game

What I have always told my kids is to make the most of each day! When I think they are spending too much time on the computer or in front of the TV, I’ll ask “Are you making the most of today?” Or if they complain about having to go somewhere with me, I’ll say, “Well, you have to go, so you might as well find a way to make the most of it!”

This weekend  my daughter  asked, “When it’s this cold out, how am I supposed to make the most of my day?” (I had just settled in on my couch to catch up on DVR, but thinking that wouldn’t be setting a good example, I quickly got up.)

Now, this idea is surely not original. I am not usually so clever so someone at some time must have planted this seed in my head. The alphabet game. So simple, it’s brilliant. You put the letters of the alphabet in a bowl, then pick a letter and think of three things to do that start with that letter. Take the letter B.

We brainstormed (which didn’t count as a B activity by the way) and we came up with book, bake, and boogie.

 I read a book out loud with her. Gosh, how many years has it been since I’ve done that? I’m not sure why when she got to the age of being able to read on her own, I stopped reading with her.

Next, baking. A little low on baking supplies, but no worries, there’s now an app for that. I can just stick in what ingredients I have, and recipes pop up. As many can attest, my skills in the kitchen are, well, actually nonexistent. But its about the time spent together doing it, rather than the outcome of the final product. Thank goodness.

Then we boogied. There in our home where no one could see us, we could blast our music and move any way we wanted to.  Picking the music though took compromise. We agreed on a little of her favorite, One Direction and little of my favorite, Rick Springfield (for the record, she knows the words to every one of his songs, I love that!)

And with those three B words, we knocked out the lamest of all B words: boredom.

In fact, I’m looking forward to another day at home like that. Another day in The Good Life.

Hanging Posters A.K.A. Bonding Time!

As she gets older, I am seeing more and more of myself in my daughter Grace.  This is a notion that mortifies her and she absolutely denies any of it. But, the truth is, she has my height, my dimples, my anxiety, and turns out, my propensity for being star struck.

This was clear as I entered her room the other night and she was hanging up her latest One Direction poster, chatting cheerfully about their latest offerings on Instagram and texting with her “Aunt Marie” about the countdown to the concert she gets to go to this summer (a Christmas present). 

It took me back to when I was 13 and had my first celebrity crush (you know who!). Then, listening to her, I realized that even though we have this fanatical behavior toward musicians in common, our experiences as 13 year olds are totally different.

She can pursue her passion for 1D (I think that’s the hip way to refer to them) via Instagram, Vine, Facebook, YouTube (I know she does this as I monitor her accounts very closely). Of course, since I grew up back in the olden days, none of these things were at my disposal as I pursued my beloved. (I think we all know who I’m talking about here.) I had to save up all my babysitting money each month to buy a teen magazine and that was my only mode of information for my main man. But watching her hang posters, now that is something I can relate to.

Of course we all know who adorned my wall back then. (Okay, for those of you new here and just tuning in, it was RICK SPRINGFIELD!) I remember carefully taking the posters out of those well-read magazines and plastering my wall.

A friend last weekend told me I shouldn’t encourage such behavior in Grace, that it’s not healthy for her to put celebrities up on a pedestal. While I certainly respect her opinion, that’s not the way I think about it.  The way I see it, music comforts Grace when she is anxious, keeps her company on long car rides, and gives her a playful side when, sadly for a 13-year old these days navigating bullying and peer pressure and all the other stuff that comes with middle school, finding something that just brings joy is a great distraction.  

So, I help her pick out the posters, and figure out where to put them in her room (lighting is VERY important, we cannot have a glare on Niall’s face). Soon enough she will grow up. She may not outgrow this childhood obsession, obviously I didn’t. But I know she will, as she matures, put it into perspective. I did. Now the pictures that adorn my wall are of the real super stars in my life, my kids. My Good Life.