“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.”

One of the most important jobs we have as parents is mastering the art of listening. Often times with the hustle and bustle of being a mama, listening – I mean really listening – to our children gets lost. There’s dinner to be made, diapers to be changed, laundry to be folded, and toys to clean up. I get it. Moms are the busiest human beings on the planet. However that is not an excuse for our children’s voice and words to get lost.  

Lucas’s language skills are blossoming at a rapid face. He thrives on engagement and his favorite person in the world to chat with is his mama. We are constantly having conversations and man I just love hearing him articulate his thoughts. I make sure to ask him about his day every evening. We chat about color and cars..ya know..worldly topics for a two year old. I encourage him to express his emotions. When he’s sad I ask him why. When he’s happy I embrace his joy and laugh with him. Even if it’s after a toot because who am I kidding, toddler farts are hilarious. 

I never want Lucas to feel I am too busy to listen to him. His words are the the most important thing in the world to me and I want him to know his voice matters. I long for him to be a man who isn’t afraid to express the type of emotions deemed “feminine” by our society. I want him to be strong with a voice that is not big, but instead thoughtful. I know that this beautiful voice of his is being shaped now. That he requires my full attention, witty banter, and more often than not – my silence. The art of listening will flourish in our home, I promise you that my sweet boy.

On a cold Saturday evening my little family bundled up and walked to Museum Mile. The Guggenheim was calling our names.It fills my heart with such happiness to share all the beauty this city of ours has to offer with my littlest love. The arts played an immense part of my childhood and helped shape the woman I am today. I attended my first concert at Madison Square Garden at just eight years old (Whitney Houston, in case you were curious!). That same year I watched actors float across a Broadway stage, belting out classics from Grease as my eyes filled with wonderment. Every weekend my mother made sure to take me to a museum, an art class, or a new neighborhood to explore. I was enrolled in dance and still remember the freedom and grace that our bodies can ignite-. I want this for Lucas.

My budding, curious boy has the world at his fingers. For now it is up to his father and I to show him..to give him the freedom to touch, dance, explore. Academics are important, sure. But in all honesty I don’t believe that a standard classroom regimen is the key to success. In order to find your true calling, to find your passion, to find out who you are, the arts are key. I want Lucas to try an instrument. To feel the smooth keys of a piano beneath his long fingers. I want Lucas to dance! To feel the rhythm of a salsa ballad run through his core. I want Lucas to paint. To watch his own masterpiece take form with every brush stroke. To me, this is living, and I want to give Lucas every opportunity in the world to feel these tangible emotions and make a decision based on his life experiences on what path he chooses to take as an young adult. Maybe he will be a scientist. But he also may very well choose to be the next Felipe Polanco.

So instead of another episode of Sesame Street where a screen was teaching him about the color green, we headed off to the museum. Where he could learn by exploring and experiencing the rich colors (green included ;).