A Bulls Game and a Mommy & Me Day

On Saturday afternoon, we took my beautiful six year old daughter to her first Chicago Bulls game.   Our activities were kept secret until the last possible moment - this time being her dad's driveway since it was his weekend and I needed to borrow a few hours of his time.  As I pulled her Bulls t-shirt on over her head and loaded her in the car, the her face could barely contain the excitement she felt!  She was aware that the other kids had been to a game, and she was thrilled that she was old enough and it was her turn.  For me, today wasn't necessarily about going to the actual game (although I was excited too).  It was about spending some bonding time with my little one.  See, she had been struggling lately with not having enough "mommy time" since the start of Kindergarten.  Gone were the once a week days of "our" time - without any of the other kids (especially her sometimes-pesky 3 year old little sister).  I have been trying to make a point of spending alone time with her, or planning activities for us that didn't include my three year old in an attempt to help her understand that there were perks to being the "big sister".  All she had seen lately were the days that she went off to school, leaving the two of us behind to play and have fun without her.  A lot has changed for my beautiful girl in the last two years - Kindergarten, her parents getting divorced, the sudden loss of her grandpa, along with a big sister who isn't a consistent presence in her life and a little sister who is at a very challenging age - have combined together and left behind a child that doesn't always feel steady and secure in her surroundings.  In her viewpoint, there have been a lot of change and loss in her short years and it's a struggle for her some days.  The only every day constant she has is her momma, and she clings on to that because it makes her feel safe.  Don't misunderstand - she has a ton of people in her life that love her and spend time with her (including her dad).  But she finds comfort in the routines we have established, and she knows that I'm here for her when she needs me.  Having said that, she misses the times that it was just the two of us and there was no one else in the house that she had to "compete" with or "share" me with.

So with everything that is going in the juggling act of my life (mommy, student, blogger, JustJen, and more!), I try to make or find as many opportunities to spend alone time with her or create situations that remind her it's a POSITIVE thing to be the big sister.  That, despite our lives not being the way it used to be, the new things can still be amazing.  To cherish the times that we do get to spend together and to teach her that it really is quality over quantity.  The Bulls game was a big event - normally we go have dinner in the food court at the mall or paint pottery.  But she loves basketball and we have been watching the Bulls together at home for the last two seasons, so I jumped at the only afternoon game on the schedule this season to take her.  It didn't matter that it wasn't a great game (the Bulls played awful and we got creamed!).  What mattered is that she had a great time with the entire game experience.  The clown made her an awesome balloon animal (a teddy bear holding a flower AND a heart).  We painted her face with a Bull on it.  She fell in love with Benny when he picked her up and twirled her around.  She managed to stuff her face with pizza, ice cream and popcorn.  She did a good job of following the game pretty intently despite being a little over-whelmed with everything else that was going on in the United Center.  And she giggled, played, cheered and snuggled her way through an afternoon of spending time with people that love her.  That, to me, is the definition of priceless.

Photo credit:  JustJen