Manic: Leaving my sick teenager to get my daughter to her orthodontist appointment on time.
Managed: What happened next reminded me to let go of the manic moments to instead focus on the sweet ones. Read on to see what I mean.
Two weeks ago, my teenager, like most kids in the month of January, came down with a virus. Although I thought about canceling my daughter’s orthodontist appointment to stay home to care for my son, I decided it was best to keep the check-up.
I stressed to my younger one that it was important that we stay on track and get back home as soon as we could to care for her brother.
I always wonder if my kids worry about the other one or simply tolerate having to deal with an annoying sibling. I got my answer one hour later as we were checking out of the ortho office.
Team Orthodontics has a cool incentive program that awards good dental hygiene and followed instructions with tokens. Once enough tokens are accumulated, they can be turned in for pretty awesome prizes. Stuff like movie passes and Best Buy gift cards truly motivate kids to brush in between their braces, wear their retainer and, in my daughter’s case, her nightly head-gear. And that wasn’t fun. So she had really earned those terrific tokens.
She asked me if today was the day that she could finally redeem her stash as she had done a good job earning, and holding onto, those tokens. Then she carefully read the redemption list. She then asked me which prize I thought her big brother would choose.
I was a bit puzzled by this question, because he also has his own stash of tokens, as we have two mouths full of metal in our household at the moment.
Both me and the Team Ortho team members were shocked that a little sis would want to spend her tokens on her beloved, but frequently annoying, older brother. Especially because he has his own stash of magic tokens. We told her that she had earned her prize, so she should get what she wanted.
Well she truly wanted to make her big brother feel better with her hard-earned tokens. So, she choose a $20 gift card to In & Out Burger, brother’s favorite fast food joint.
And if that wasn’t enough, she gift wrapped the card and tied it to a balloon. She then delivered it to his bedside! He hugged her and exclaimed that they would go together and share the gift card. This was a proud Mama moment for me.
Their kind exchange and her thoughtfulness reminded me to savor the sweet moments, especially with all of the manic moments that fill our days.
Big bro is all better now and we are back to our manic managed schedules, so much so, that we still haven’t found a free moment to redeem that gift card.
And when we do, I will watch those two chomp down their burgers and fries. And I will savor that sweet moment. I’ll also freeze and recall that sweet sibling exchange when I watch them fight, as they also tend to do quite a bit.
In the meantime, it is good to know that my cute, cuddly and crazy kiddos know that they can count on each other to stay calm and managed in a manic world.
And having lost my own beloved brother nine years ago, I truly savor the sweet moments that I had with him. I am thankful to see my kids savor their own sweet moments now.
Remembering to do this is one good and special way to stay calm and managed in this manic world that we live in.
