Mother and Son time, in Toronto!

As a mother, it is often a challenge to spend quality time with both my sons. As they are getting older, I see the importance of giving each child individual attention. Seeing as my youngest is the quiet, introverted of the two, he is often "ignored" and least likely to gain my attention. My eldest son, first born and gifted with a strong personality, is demanding of attention and interactions. Add to the mix the life of a single parent, one quickly realizes the challenge to set some semblance of balance in the household.
Fear not, it can be done...

I decided to fly with my youngest to Toronto for four days, to celebrate my sister's birthday, her dog "Happy's" birthday and still manage to spend some one on one time with my kidlink.
Clearly, one still needs to multi-task for best results!!

I am happy to report that I learned a lot interacting with my son. As quiet and discreet as he may be in our busy household, I discovered that he loves to talk intimately about things in his life, issues about being in a divorced household, sharing his interests ( now that no one else is competing for my attention), having a voice ( and at times a loud one at that!). Most of all, I was shocked to see how little he is given choices back home. During our trip, he was astonished when asked simple questions like what do you want to eat, where do you want to eat, what movie do you wish to see, what would you like to visit today?

As a mother, it's a rude awakening. My son blossomed on this trip. We both realised how easy it is to let the quiet one in the family go unnoticed.

Together, we roamed the streets of Yorkville, discovering The Royal Ontario Museum. My little guy soaked up The Natural History Museum. We spent three hours roaming the multi-level complex with HIM in mind. He chose his path, he chose where we lingered, what we read, where we discussed. I stood in wonder noticing how MUCH he knew about our world, about history...he is a walking wealth of knowledge!! A proud moment for this mom.

Along the way, I discovered with bright eyes that he has an eye for fashion. This little guy enjoyed window shopping along Bloor Avenue. He saw this princess eyeing a purse store. It didn't take him long before we entered the store and he began roaming the aisles scanning the purses and picking one up. "Mama, check this out! It will look great on you this Spring!"

When did THAT happen? When did this little guy develop an interest in fashion? The shop keeper was stunned and quickly realized that this kid was more likely to seal the sale than she ever could. I walked out with a canary yellow, fine leather purse, accessorised with a matching wallet....just in time for SPRING!

I wasn't all that shocked to see that along with his EYE for fashion, he has an EYE for composition. He grabbed my SLR and soon began fiddling with the features, snapping away at landscapes, Happy's mutt face, and people! I am not photogenic and hate most photographs taken of me...BUT....am proud to say this little guy took some awesome shots of his MAMA. When did that happen???

Meal times were perfect opportunities to chat and talk intimately about issues that trouble him at school or at home. He had a voice! He noticed he had undivided attention. He had an audience.

Moral of the story, as a mother we have telling jobs raising our kids to the best of our abilities.

Never mind clothing them, feeding them and tucking them into bed...I was reminded at how important it is to listen to our kids, give each child an opportunity to choose, decide without the circus-like behaviour of the regular household. Most of all, the quiet ones need our ATTENTION the most. It's too easy to let them slip away!!! Way too easy...