Aide and Abettor

My son likes board games; so much so that he often plays with them alone. Mostly he just plays with the game pieces like they're action figures, not caring to play the game as directed. Sometimes he asks me to play, and today, I ended up teaching him how to play Guess Who. He caught on quickly, winning his very first game. I had just a couple of characters left that could've been his. I'd asked earlier if his person was a girl, and he'd said yes. So I asked him if he was either Girl 1 or Girl 2, and he showed me that he'd actually drawn a male character. He giggled wildly and said, "I tricked you!"
I explained that answering dishonestly in this game is cheating. Honestly, though, I didn't know whether I should be disappointed that he cheated, or proud that he learned the rules quickly enough to know how to cheat on his first game. It was actually funny, because he's five and it was just a board game. When we played the second time, he didn't cheat; I won that round. He'd learned his lesson. Later, when he wanted some Count Chocula (known in our house as a "dessert cereal"), he came to me, wrapped his little arms around me, put his head on my shoulder, gave me the sweetest puppy dog eyes, longest pleeeeeeeeaaaaase, and a kiss on my cheek. My sweet little boy, cheating and bribing all in one day. They grow so fast.

Self-Helper

My baby turned 5 a couple of weeks ago. I don't know where the time went. I was pregnant forever, he was finally born, he took a couple of steps, and all of a sudden he's 5. He plays better, both with his sister and independently. He can get his own snacks. He can operate the TV. The bottom line is that he requires less of my attention now. I tried to savor his infancy, but now that it's gone I don't have any excuses for not investing more of my time into myself and the things I like to do. I don't have to sell myself short on 20 minute exercise sessions because he'll get bored and goodness knows what he'll get into. I don't have to take 2-minute showers because he might find and eat a food he's allergic to. I don't have to put off making jewelry until he's asleep because his tiny hands are trying to splash my beads everywhere. If he needs me, he can wait until I finish reading a chapter before I jump up to help. So I plan to invest in my well-being more. I'll work out for an hour when I can, maybe soak in a bath after. I can read with both eyes on the page instead of one on him. I can shut myself in my room to write. I can make jewelry in peace. Maybe I'll even find time to learn something new. I knew I couldn't keep him from growing up forever, so now it's time for me to start growing as well.