06 October, 2008

Love Games

I am a crazy mom.  I don't deny it, in fact, I revel in it.  I play with words, do cartwheels, ride a bike with abandon (for me), and sing whenever the spirit moves me to do so.  I dance in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and run around in a tee shirt and panties.  My daughter will happily tell you that I am crazy - and that gives her permission to be crazy too. 
 
One of the crazy little games we play is about love.  I honestly thought I was the only parent that did this, or something like this until a few days ago when I found myself up late into the night chatting with a dad I respect so very much for his amazing efforts as a parent.  He has these little games too - and his are fun.  I started wondering if all parents have these little games?  Do we, as grown up kids, remember the games our parents played with us?
 
My daughter was never a fan of the classic kids books - Goodnight Moon was not one of her favorites.  She liked No David, Is Your Mama a Llama, Sheep in a Jeep, and a few others that I have blocked from my memory - I was that tired of reading them. 
 
Remember the book about the big bunny and the little bunny?  The little bunny asks how much the big bunny loves it.  The amount of love continues to grow... this much, as far as I can jump, to the moon and back...
 
My daughter wasn't a fan of the book, but for some reason she adopted the idea. 
 
Through the years, our game has evolved.  No longer do we love one another to the moon and back or to a distant galaxy and back five times, now it is all about infinity. 
 
"I love you to infinity," the Diva will tell me
"I love you twice that much."
"I love you 5X infinity!"
"I always love you twice as much!"
"Moooom, you always win."
 
It is wonderful to know that I am not the only person who is crazy when it comes to love for their kid.  I like to think that it is little games like this and love related traditions that will stick with her.  She might not remember the challenges as much as she remembers that her mom was crazy about her - always loving her twice as much!

5 comments:

said...

Isn't it fun to be crazy?

My kids go nuts when I do too. One of our favorite things to do is turn up the music really loud, dance and sing as loud as we can. We're always singing, the 3 of us.

It has been my fellow bloggers who remind me not to take myself so seriously. Many times I feel overwhelmed by this single parenthood and the support that I receive from other single parents... and posts like this... help me to lighten up and that makes me a better mommy.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

We do that game too - when mine were a little smaller they thought that if they stretched their arms really wide - THAT was a lot of love!!

Now Cameron and I do 5 x more than something or something + 10. Its really cool!

I dont think I am silly enough to be honest!

dadshouse said...

Ok, your list of books: No David, Is Your Mama a Llama, Sheep in a Jeep,...

My name is David. Mama Llama is part of our blogosphere. Who is Sheep in a Jeep? Even if I'm reading way too much into it, your subconscious chose those titles for a reason.

btw - my son loves me a lot, because he gave me a $100,000 candy bar, and it was yummy. How do I double that?! :-)

Mama Llama said...

HA...smiles to Dads, I was thinking The Exact Same Thing...

Princesita does the same thing you describe, TE...insisting that there is no way her love for me could ever be trumped by mine for her. And yes, we have arrived at "a google plus one".

Be well, TE.

The Exception said...

T - I feel the same way. The support is wonderful to experience. We don't turn the music up but we do sing at any time - just... because!

Harassed - Sometimes I have to remind myself to be a little more crazy. It is hard to let your hair down when there is so much to do - but she and I both have a great time when I do.

Ah now DH - Those were actually her favorite books when she was little. Perhaps the universe is involved somehow?! ;) T must be the sheep as I am sure she would look great behind the wheel of a jeep!

Ms Llama - Kids are great. A friend of mine told me years ago that she never understood how much her mom loved her until she had kids. As I explain to my daughter, the love is just so very different - a different kind of love - dare I say... a groovy kind of love?

Anyway, the games are fun!