As Maya is staying home this summer, I am trying to add structure to her day by assigning her tasks, or limiting how much TV she watches, or having her get outside and playing. Of course, I'm not the one who is home with her so it's hard to ensure that she's getting the structure she needs when I'm not home. But the one thing I thought I could control is letting her call me at work if she needed to talk to me or ask questions.
Hmmmmm...giving a 6-year-old the authority to pick up the phone and call you is like, well, a kid in a candy store. They just don't know when enough is enough. The first day I gave her this authority (and wrote down my direct work number on the bulletin board), she called me six times. Yes, six times throughout an 8-hour day. About three of those ended up as voicemails as I wasn't at my desk the entire time. This week, she's called me about 4-5 times a day. The conversations all go something like this.
Maya: Hi Mommy!
Me: Hi sweetie! How are you?
Maya: Good. How's your day?
Me: Just fine.
Maya: What are you doing?
Me: Working
Maya: Are you having a good day.
Me: Yes sweetie. Did you need something?
Maya: I just wanted to call and say I love you. When are you coming home?
Me: In a few hours.
SILENCE
Me: Is there anything else sweetie?
Maya: I love you and Daddy loves you and I can't wait until you get home and I hope you're having a good day at work.
While the multiple distractions can be a bit, well, distracting, it's nice to hear that sweet voice on the other end of the phone. For occasions when I'm not having such a good day, those voicemails are still on my phone to listen to whenever I need a bit of love!
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