<\/em><\/p>\nNext came, \u201cWhen was your birthday when you were little?\u201d<\/p>\n
The thought that my birthday was different date when I was little than what it is now gave me a chuckle. I went on to tell her about a wonderful slumber party I had when I was ten-years-old.<\/p>\n
Next was, \u201cWhere do bunnies live?\u201d<\/p>\n
I am certainly no animal expert, but I was able to answer that one.<\/p>\n
Followed by, \u201cWhere do magic bunnies live?\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know the answer to that one, but no worries because she did.<\/p>\n
She confidently informed me, \u201cMagic Bunnies live in Bunnyland, which is way far away just past Lady Gaga\u2019s apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which, of course, lead to, \u201cWhere does Lady Gaga live?\u201d<\/p>\n
Our ten minutes of \u201ctalk time\u201d concluded after I described the pink furry decorations that adorned the walls of Lady Gaga\u2019s London townhouse (just guessing).<\/p>\n
The next day I found myself anxiously awaiting Talk Time<\/em> with my four-year-old. I wondered what her interesting line of questioning would be this time. I imagined we would again share another night of laughter and reminiscing.<\/p>\nBut that night, instead of childhood questions about me, it was childhood questions about her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did I do when I was a baby, Mama?\u201d was the question that got things started.<\/p>\n
Next was, \u201cWhat kind of clothes did I wear?\u201d<\/p>\n
Which somehow lead to: \u201cAre their sharks in Hilton Head?\u201d<\/p>\n
Which somehow lead to: \u201cDo people have light up hair when they sing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cIs Rapunzel real?\u201d Ok, so there was a logical connection between questions once in awhile.<\/p>\n
Finally we ended on, \u201cHow many boo-boos did I get today?\u201d This involved counting and kisses. What better way to end a day?<\/p>\n
We have continued Talk Time<\/em> for two weeks now. She never ceases to amaze and delight me. Although every night brings a string of\u00a0 original questions, there is one question that repeatedly comes up.<\/p>\nEvery single night my daughter asks, \u201cHow much longer is Talk Time<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\nMy four-year-old loves Talk Time<\/em> so much she doesn\u2019t want it to end. And surprisingly, I have found that I don\u2019t want it to end either.<\/p>\nI love it because it is not Talk Time<\/em>, not in the way that it is Talk Time<\/em> with my-seven-year old. I should have known that Talk Time<\/em> with my second daughter would not be like Talk Time<\/em> with my first daughter because they are different in so many beautiful ways.<\/p>\nMy four-year-old\u2019s version of Talk Time<\/em> is actually Question Time<\/em>. For ten whole minutes she is free to ask the questions that she ponders in that unbelievably clever four-year-old mind of hers.<\/p>\nAnd for ten minutes she has a totally focused, undistracted parent ready to explore and answer the questions of her heart.<\/p>\n
Isn't that what all kids truly long for\u2026to have the freedom to ask the questions of life? Is there any better gift I can give my child than to allow her to ask questions without fear of judgment, without fear of being hurried along, without fear of being completely ignored?<\/p>\n
My \u201cMe Time\u201d can wait. Right now there is a four-year-old with questions that only her parent can answer. With sadness I realize that someday she will have her own answers, and she won't need mine.<\/p>\n
Yet, part of me wants to believe that because<\/strong> I am answering her questions now (and through the next critical years), she may continue<\/strong> to turn to me for answers even when she has plenty of her own.<\/p>\nAlthough I try not to berate myself over things I wish I had done sooner, I can\u2019t help but wonder what questions I may have lost as she fell asleep pondering them all by herself.<\/p>\n
Yet, my loving Hands Free inner voice is quick to remind me that it\u2019s not about yesterday; it\u2019s about today, and the choices I make today.<\/p>\n
Last night I made the choice to hold off writing a story that so desperately yearned to be written. Instead I had Question Time<\/em> with my four-year-old.<\/p>\nShe surprised me by saying she only had one question. And then with a trembling lip and teary eyes she asked, \u201cMama, when will we go to heaven?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I attempted to answer the very best way I could, I said quick prayer of gratitude.<\/p>\n
I may have missed a few questions along the way, but thank God, I didn\u2019t miss this one.<\/p>\n
And I don\u2019t plan on missing anymore.<\/p>\n
Whether it turns out as Talk Time or Question Time, try it tonight. Whether they are three-years-old or thirteen-years-old, begin the conversation. Put your own agenda for the night on hold and give your child ten minutes. You might be surprised as time stands still and the treasures within your child\u2019s heart are uncovered. Don't put this one off; do it tonight. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One night after her bedtime book was read and her \u201cpretend story\u201d was told, my four-year-old daughter asked, \u201cMama, can we have talk time?\u201d I don’t know why it would surprise me that she would catch wind of the\u00a0Talk Time going on in Big Sister’s room every single night and would want some\u00a0Talk Time of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"gutentor_comment":10,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0008-e1302576418711.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1fUJF-kH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}