The Daily Hailey

I was on Pinterest today (of course) and saw that someone had pinned something called “The Mom Challenge.” It claimed to provide a challenge for mothers once a week for a year, to bring you closer to your kids. I followed the link to see what it was, and loved that the first “challenge” was to eat together. One week of meals, with no TV, no phones, just good old fashioned talking and laughing and loving. I was like “This blogger thinks like me!” So I looked around on her blog to try to find the rest of the challenges. I saw the list and immediately felt a little bit smaller. They were things like “Slow Down” and “Leave the laundry alone.” I do those things every week, who am I kidding?! But one that jumped out at me was “Hugs and Kisses.” I went to the post and was a little sad. The “challenge” was to hug and kiss your kids. Well, not even that. Just hugs. Three hugs a day, “even if you have to sneak them.” It suggested that if your kids are teenagers, discuss with them that hugs are not optional. WHAT?!?!?! I still adore hugs from my mother! Hugs and kisses are not something I would ever pass up! It just made me sad to think that some people don’t get hugged and kissed. People need to be told and showed that they are loved! Now maybe someone will comment and tell me that it gets harder later or something, but so far, I don’t see it! I don’t expect I will ever run out of hugs! Or kisses! I suppose not everyone comes from a hugging family, and in that case they may have to make more of a point to hug their kids, and maybe the post was more geared towards that kind of situation. Who knows. I just was so surprised that it was considered a “challenge” to hug your kids three times a day.

All parents do things different. Some have the routine of bedtime stories every night before bed. Maybe some go for a walk every day together. My children will have to cuddle with me 🙂 Every day. For…at least ten minutes. Even when they’re teenagers. And you know what? I think they’ll like it!

At least this one isn’t objecting yet.