Pampering Day 7: Quiet Thoughtfulness

This morning was a laid back morning and then I loaded up the kids to go meet Allen at IKEA for lunch. We haven't done that since before the baby was born and it was time to give CPR to this beloved family tradition that started a few years ago as a way of helping to break up Allen's work week. It has long been one of Will's favorite parts of the week and his smile was beaming ear to ear when I told him we were going to "go go IKEA see Daddy" today.

We got to IKEA, grabbed our food and chose a table. Not too long after, a family from Germany came and sat down at the table across from us. It looked like it was a grandmother, mother and granddaughter (who was maybe 2 years old?) with a family friend. They immediately spotted Lily and made friends with her by making cute faces and baby noises, while chattering busily about her in German, especially explaining to the little girl as I nursed Lily. Apparently, that's thought to be a cute thing over there and they thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Quite different from the American attitudes on nursing in public! LOL!

All of this reminded me of Mom, who taught German for many years and loved nothing more than holding a good conversation in German and talking with native speakers. She would have been all over getting to know these visitors from Germany, both because of the opportunity for conversation in a foreign language and because they were showing such joyful interest in her granddaughter.

Will was intrigued by everything as it unfolded. When Mom was living, she worked a little on teaching Will some German words and phrases. I really know nothing about that kind of thing but it was thrilling and joyful for Will. Ever since Mom died, Will has been asking about learning German and after today's IKEA experience, he was downright begging. I wasn't planning to start a homeschool language curriculum until kindergarten, but it looks like I'll be starting now and instead of doing Spanish, we'll be doing German. It's funny to me because I've never been a language person and that drove Mom nuts (lol). So, now I'll be not only learning a language, but learning German. LOL, I'm sure she's having a good laugh in heaven.

All of this got me thinking about my Mom and thinking fondly about old memories and wonderful times we had together, along with little things she used to do, like greeting me in German or saying something totally over my head just to get on my nerves (in a lighthearted way. lol.). When I got the kids in bed, what I needed to do for myself more than anything was just have some quiet time to sit with my thoughts. I didn't need a fussy beauty routine, a guided meditation or a massage -- just some time to quietly center myself and think about good times. So, I pulled out the knitting and enjoyed just that as the children were peacefully slumbering. Apparently quiet thoughtfulness is good for knitting projects because I got a lot done. It won't be long until Ms. Lily has a hand knit square of her Grandmama's yarn to snuggle with at night. The ball of yarn is about half gone now.