Mom, What Do I Have Today?

Emmy has decided I am boring. It seems that almost anything and anyone is more exciting than spending an entire day with me while the girls are gone to school. Each morning, first thing, Emmy asks me, "Mom, what do I have today?", followed by "Mom, what do I have tomorrow?" Unfortunately for her, what she usually has is a day with me. I try to sound enthusiastic about all the fun things we get to do, but this does not seem to comfort her. She wants to be on the go! However, being the "industrious" gal that she is, she has found a few avenues to keep her busy.

Emmy's favorite thing to do as of late is to go to work with Bop. She doesn't seem to mind what he has on his to-do list, she wants to help him. Each morning at approximately 8:00, she calls Bop on his cell phone and proclaims, "What are you doing? I want to work with you today. Can you come and get me?" Some of her favorite days are spent alongside Bop, washing trailers, detailing cars, and delivering vehicles to various destinations. She knows everyone at his work, and pretty much has them all wrapped around her finger. She gets paid in treats. In fact, the other day she told me that Bop was going to hire her instead of Jill (who oversees the detailers), because she doesn't charge as much. Then she said, "but Jill and I will still be best buddies. She's not mad at me." She also likes working with Matt, a younger guy that also works in the shop. She calls him "Uncle Matt" (he's not).
Emmy gets pretty disappointed when Bop has to travel to California, which is quite often. This week, for instance, he left on Tuesday for California and doesn't return until Friday evening. She begged me to take her to the shop to work anyway. It went something like this, "Mom, pleeeeeeeeaaaase? I will listen to everyone reeeeeaaaaally good! Jill and Uncle Matt will watch out for me! Mom, I would REALLY enjoin (enjoy) it! I would REALLY enjoin it! Mom, I would REALLY enjoin it!" (Emmy believes everything is more effective if it's said an half million times.)
The other day when she found out Bop was leaving for the week, she said, "Oh! California? That's one of my favorite places!" I could just hear the wheels turning. When Bop is gone, she puts in offers to go with anyone who calls or visits our house. The other day, the girls' adopted grandma Tracy was at our house. Emmy asked her, "What are you doing when you leave here?" Tracy replied that she was going to clean her house, to which Emmy quickly responded, "Don't you think I should come with you?" Soon, she was out the door, holding Tracy's hand.

Other places that Emmy has traveled this week are: Monday, she hung out with Grandma C during the morning. On Tuesday she caught a ride to Salt Lake with Grandma C & Aunt Andrea to doctor appointments. Wednesday she spent the afternoon at Grandma Tam & Grandpa Lloyd's while I went to a doctor appointment. Thursday she happened to answer the phone when Aunt Andrea called, taking advantage of a chance to ask if she could come to her house for a "project". Friday morning, she called Grandma T, hoping for a chance to come play,which unfortunately she was unable to arrange. She's already got an evening hooked up with Grandpa J for tonight. She's hoping to pitch in for chores, watch a movie, and eat lots of OREOS. It doesn't get better.

I've been told that Emmy is taking after her Uncle Shawn. He was (and still is) always up for an exciting adventure! Lucky for Emmy. . . It seems she has the genes of two of the most fun people in our families. She looks a lot like her very fun and beautiful Aunt Haylee, and loves to be on the go like her Uncle Shawn, one of my favorite people.

I snapped these pictures the other day of Emmy while she was waiting for Bop to come and get her for a day at work. She was so excited about his arrival, jabbering a mile a minute about what the day held in store for her. I just watched her and listened and then had the strongest impression to grab my camera to catch that moment. I'm so grateful for that impression- for the gift I had that day of really being "present" with her at that moment, basking in her excitement for life. Looking at these pictures makes me realize that with this little one of mine, I need to really take hold of each of the little moments I get with her. They may not last long. With Emmy, I always feel like she's just beyond my grasp, alive with joy and excitement, off and running to tackle the next adventure life offers her. I've wondered many times about how I can tame her down a bit, to help her learn to be a bit more calm, to stretch her attention span a bit. I think I've been missing the boat. Instead, maybe I need to learn to pay attention when I have a moment with her, and really live in that moment. Because if I don't, she'll not wait around long enough for me to pay attention. She'll already be on to the next adventure.

I love that each of my kids teach me. Emmy is teaching me to live the moment. To love the moment. Hopefully I'm learning.

What a gal! I have a feeling it won't be long until I'm asking her, "Emmy, What do I have today? . . .What do I have tomorrow?" I can't wait to see what she has in store!