When Parenting Unfolds Like a Game of Hide-and-Seek

This weekend, my sister and I were laughing about those parenting moments when everything feels like it’s spiraling — a baby crying on a plane, a teenager slamming the old bedroom door — and how extraordinary it is when a parenting moment unfolds exactly as you imagined it would, whether that meant hearing a toddler’s first word or talking about middle-school crushes at bedtime.

One of my pinch-me parenting moments: The boys and I were playing hide-and-seek at our neighborhood playground, and we had already tried all the obvious hiding spots, like behind a big tree or in the bushes. So I decided to hide where they would never look: in a group of parents standing right there. I walked up to the adults and said, “Hi! I’m hiding from my kids, so can I join your conversation?” They laughed and welcomed me right in. When the boys finished counting and began searching for me, they looked everywhere — behind benches, under slides — except at the grown-ups standing there chatting about whatever grown-ups chat about. I could not stop laughing, hiding in plain sight.

What about you? Please share a time when you were like, This is the stuff!

P.S. Three words that changed how I parent, and what little things enchant your children?

(Photo of the boys and me by Heather Moore, from years ago:)

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