Fairytales

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales;

If you want your children to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales"

~ Albert Einstein ~

It was about a fortnight before I gave birth to my son, that I read a post by Shawna at Styleberry (here) about "being present" and also some other articles online about this same topic. They resonated with me and have stuck with me throughout the first few months of my new role as a mother. And thank goodness! 

In today's society, we are so distracted from everything we do. We try to do everything and be everything. Sometimes this just doesn't work. Our children are a product of who we are and how we are. So I made the conscious decision to "be present" with my son. I want to live every moment with him as he grows, learns and loves life. I want to teach him that "life" can be loved and treasured. I want to show him this. 

My biggest challenge would be my iPhone. I do everything on my phone. Calls. Texts. Emails. Banking. Shopping Lists. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Photos. LinkedIn. Viber. Whatsapp. Skype. Wow! The list continues. 

So the choice was made. No phone while there is opportunity to spend time with him. It's worked well for the most part and I am so conscious of it when I am using it around him. More so, I think, than if I hadn't read the article. And I'm conscious of it with others around him and how they spend the time with him. In saying that, he does know the sight of my iPhone, but that's because I've turned into one of those crazy mumma's who takes photos of her child EVERYWHERE and with EVERYONE! I have a photo of him with everyone he's met. I'm capturing the moments in his life that can be treasured. 

Life isn't about keeping up with the latest... it's about experiencing and living life, and that's what I want to teach Xavier. I'll certainly be reading him fairytales. Just as my parents read me fairytales. And if he's intelligent, that's just the bonus. The main thing is that I got to spend all those treasured moments reading with him. Being present.