August 23, 2013

Quality Time is her Love Language

Josiah helped me pick out a beautiful bunch of babies breath for Anya this morning at the market.  I have put them in her room as a surprise with a little card which is an invite to a mother-daughter date tomorrow.  I read this post yesterday and slowly read through all eighty odd comments and had a bit of a reality check on my relationship with my first-born.
Anya is a vivacious, social girl who thrives on quality time.  She and I spend a lot of time together but to be honest there isn't always a lot of quality going on there with the routine of life.  As I read through the comments yesterday I was reminded of the simple acts I could improve on to help nurture our relationship;
  • Spend quality time
  • Listen to everything
  • Be truly present
  • Involve a village of women in her life that she can share and learn from
  • Pursue God
  • Lead by example
  • Be honest about everything
  • Respect her and her opinions
  • Accept her just as she is - rejoice in her differences
  • Be available
  • Let her know I will always have her back
  • Invest in her gifts
I haven't even decided what we are going to do tomorrow.... but it will involve nature, food and a spot of shopping!