This morning was a good one. Everyone was up early. Moods were bright and cheery. My littles were listening and following directions. Something was off but what was it? Our mornings are never this way so it was somewhat concerning to me. Did I promise an Oreo for breakfast or something more powerful? Hmmm… Let me think about this for a minute. No, nope I didn’t. By 7:05 am, I was dressed, my children were dressed, and we were all downstairs already eating breakfast. All of us. Sitting down. Eating. No pouting. No shouting. No throwing food. No demands for this or that. There was civility at the table. Seriously, what the heck is going on? Breakfast IS our best meal of the day but this is not normal for our household or family. We ate. We talked. There was singing. Book reading. It was something. Something I would like to repeat every day but I have a feeling this may be short-lived. Wishful thinking, right? It is amazing how quickly mealtime can actually be without the throwing, the no-no-no’s, the tantrums of any degree, the fussing, the getting up-and-down, the potty breaks, the spills, and the nonsense that is the usual scene around our table. See, I knew it {said emphatically}: a 4 year old and a 2 year old can do “this” meal-thing. It’s not an urban legend. Their civil, loving, funny, sharing behavior continued from the table to our family room. I didn’t want to interfere so after breakfast they went to play (since we were all up and ready to darn early) before preschool drop off {which never happens because we are always rushing out the door: “hurry, hurry, hurry”. Into the playroom they went, together. They decided on blocks. Secretly, I was thinking: “okay, here’s where the kindness ends and the throwing, fighting, frustration begins.” So, I watched. I listened. I waited. Guess what? None of that happened. They played TOGETHER. “What?” you say. Yes, they played together with words like: “thank you”, “that’s really nice”, “please”, and “I like it when you share with me?” Now, that’s basically from my 4 year old because my 2 year old isn’t that verbal yet. Holy moly, they DO listen to me, to us {even thought I feel like I’m so often just talking, redirecting, correcting and reminding to myself}. Stunned, I quickly grabbed my camera and waited. Watching from the kitchen not wanting to get too close, I photographed the moment you see below. Sunshine. Sharing. Blocks. And my babies, together. What a lovely moment, and I’m so glad I captured it through the lens.

“Blocks of Sharing: a sibling story”, COPYRIGHT | DAYS WITH US, dayswithus.com

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