Be Greedy, Be Very Greedy

Yes, I am telling you to be greedy.
And I do mean greedy.
Miserly.
Piggish.
Voracious.
And all the other synonyms that go along with it.

What shall you be so greedy with?
What kind of horrid advice is being doled out here?
Well, here it is, in a nutshell...

Be Greedy With Time

As I packed up some clothes and toys to sell in a consignment sale this week, I became sad.
It was the blasted play food that did me in.
The little fake milk bottles, the pizza slices, the plastic pile of spaghetti. It was too much. 
Then there was the little Subway set that Aunt Cherith bought Lincoln when he was 2. (and that was before Jim Gaffigan's "Eat Fresh" bit. She's a trail blazer that Aunt.) 
I was brought back to so many memories of being made a lunch of plastic peas, rolls, and a potato.
I revisited mind pictures of Teddy Bears being fed spoonfuls of pretend oatmeal, and grocery stores set up for me to come buy dinner ingredients in.
Alden used to empty out my cupboards and put this very food inside, pulling up his play stove to cook alongside me. Lincoln and Emerson used to have a cash register and we had elaborate shopping and restaurant dining experiences. I remember poor Em's first realization that the food was not, in fact, real. What a cookie let down that was.

As I packed it up, I realized, I wanted more.
More pretend meals to "interrupt" my busy day.
More pretend bites of plastic pickles.
More moments.
More memories.
More time.

But that phase is kind of over for my boys.
It struck me that they make real food now.
Emerson cracks real eggs and makes them on a real stove, in a real pan.
Alden scales the cupboard and makes his own bowl of real cereal or actual oatmeal.
Lincoln likes to prepare his own lunch and makes us all hot chocolate on cold days... with a real tea kettle, and hot steaming water.

Play food is over.
And it killed me.

I wanted to physically turn back the hands of time.
Come Back!!!!!!
But I know, we cannot do that.
So, instead I made a decision.
I will now turn into the greediest time hog of all.
I will grab every minute of play time with my boys as I can.
Last month as I deleted app after app off my phone for our electronics free week, I wasn't sad.
I didn't mourn their loss. There were no fond memories of scrabble games won, re-tweets, or candies crushed.
But that plastic piece of sliced cheese... that brought me to tears.

So whatever you are doing, be greedy with your kid time.
Grab it all.
Every minute.
Stuff your pockets, fill your bags, and then keep grabbing for more.
Do it when you are tired.
Do it when you are frustrated.
Do it when you don't want to.

Be greedy and do not apologize for it.

Time is the coin of your life. 

It is the only coin you have, 

and only you can determine how it will be spent. 

Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. 

                                                            ~Carl Sandburg