I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
Punched in the eyeball with a Rubik’s Cube (regretting being playful)
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I recently got punched in the EYEBALL with the corner of a Rubik’s cube. It all started when I felt like I was CRUSHING it at being a mom, doing all of the following at once:
It was all going so well and just when I started feeling cocky like “Look at me, playing with all three of them at once, having such a great time…” BAM - my toddler started to fall off the couch and I caught her with my ninja-mom-reflexes. At the same exact moment, my son tripped over his own feet and crashed into me, accidentally punching my eyeball with the corner of the Rubik’s cub he was holding. I screamed. It hurt so bad. I couldn’t open it for a while. We debated about ER but after some time, it started to feel a little better and my vision was okay, so luckily it wasn’t as serious an injury as it initially felt. I’m sharing this with you to be transparent about something: In that moment, I resented being playful with them at the end of a long day. I resented my husband who had just gotten home from work only to sit back down at his computer because something important had come up. I even resented my son and his bull-in-a-china-shop ways. And what I realized was under that resentment was that I had been pushing through with play when I truly needed a break. I had already been out all day with the kids doing fun things and was spent. I wasn’t resentful because we were playing. I was resentful because I was trying to keep giving when I had nothing left to give. If I hadn’t been pushing myself past my capacity, I think I would have just been in (immense) pain and frustrated, but I wouldn’t have felt that deep resentment. The resentment came from not honoring what I really needed. (BTW, yes, Steve sprinted to my rescue and took over kid duty and tended to me!) So, here’s my invitation for you this week:
Cheering you on always, Mia 💞 MORE FROM PLAYFUL HEART PARENTING: My all-time favorite improv games for family connection! Prompt-based games and easy, silly moment ideas (1500+ prompts and counting!) 11 core strategies for using play as a tool for more ease and joy in parenting. |
Playful Heart Parenting
I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
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