It’s been a busy week. Programs, meetings, teachings, a chaotic schedule. All of which leads to late nights, writing emails and rushed dinners. As I settled into the couch, ready to play catch up with my computer, an eight year old voice called out, “Mom, want to play Go Fish?”
Truthfully, I groaned. Go Fish? A game that never ends because there’s always a conversation that ensues…”Mom, one more round? Mom, just one more game?” It’s a never-ending cycle. And full disclosure: I’m competitive. I always want to win, no matter if the competitor is a 40 year old or my young, precocious daughter.
So I groaned. But… immediately got up to start the game.
Because I’m already seeing glimpses of a daughter that is growing older, more excited to spend time with friends than with her parents. I feel as if I will blink, and soon after, watch this old soul attend her first dance. She recently giggled about a boy in her class, blushing as she spoke. My baby girl is less baby with each waking moment. The work will always be there. But the window in which a little girl wants to play with her mom may slowly be fading.
Kohelet reminds us that “… there is a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak….” We must utilize the time we are given and not waste a precious moment.
My daughter taught me, “It was a time to play.” So play we did.
And you better believe there was a second round. But somehow…we both won.
Shabbat Shalom
