Sometimes we just need to listen.
If we took a moment to stop the words that were itching to slip out of our mouths and just hear what is going on around us we could stand to learn a lot. Especially with young children around.
Devin: "Next year I am going to Kindergarten. I'm really going to miss all you guys!
Mommy: "Where is it you think you're going??"
Devin: "Kindergarten mom! So I won't be seeing you anymore."
Sienna: "Devin you have an owie on your weg. Now we will cut off your weg. Okay?"
Devin: "Sienna...if you cut off my weg all of my food will fall out!"
Sienna: "Oh no... we will cut off your arm. Okay?"
Devin: "Mommy...remember the time that I went hunting and caught a tiger and we ate it for dinner?"
Sienna: "Ohhhhh yes...that was NUMMY!"
There is the truth...and then there is the truth as kids see it. These two things would appear to be very different from each other, and the reality we live in. Kids are constantly bending the truth to fit their own needs or will even choose to disregard it completely in lieu of their own "truth". It's an appealing practice, really. How many times have I wished I could write my own reality? Or change the situation I was in based on what I wanted to happen instead of what was really happening?
Think on it a minute...
Yes, the appeal of it is quite apparent, eh?
It is completely refreshing to just listen to the way children view their world. Many times I find myself wanting to correct what they are saying in order to set them on the right path:
No, your food will not fall out if you cut off your leg.
No you will not be leaving our family permanently to go to kindergarten.
No you have never been hunting on your own and as far as I can remember you have yet to feed me tiger for dinner.
But it is those times when I stop the urge to just jump in with my own "truth" that the real essence of being a child comes through. Innocence. Creativity. Imagination. Three things that I hope my children never lose just to be "right".
So, for now I try to listen and allow myself to dwell for a bit in a reality that is not quite my own. I know these years of young children will go fast and I want to hold on to every tidbit while I can.
Now, off to find a recipe for tiger...I have a special dinner to prepare.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Fitting It In...
Trying to fit that proverbial square peg into the round hole is difficult at times.
Hell, who am I kidding...it's difficult all the time.
A life with small children is a testament to this statement. For example, trying to get out of the house on time with two young ones in tow. Oh yes...now you see my point.
Mornings are my favorite time of day and by nature I am an early riser. Those moments before the rest of the world awakens were always very special to me. Whether I was hitting the gym or lingering over my morning joe they were mine and only mine.
That was, of course, before children.
A fly on the wall on any given morning would be exhausted after watching only two minutes of our morning routine...and that is even before my children are up. There are lunches to be finished, coffee to be made (and injected) and the evening's dinner to be prepped. There is the 40 minutes of yoga, my personal sanity saver, to fit in so I can begin to get a grasp on the tasks ahead of me. There is the time it takes to get myself ready and presentable for a day in the professional world...and then there are the kids. My two little lovebugs have also always been early risers so you'd think they'd be up as soon as I was...but nooooo...of course as soon as school starts and we HAVE to get up they decide it is the perfect time to start sleeping in. Go figure.
I am happy if we just get out the door...never mind the state we're in or even if we are remotely on time.
You see, forcing issues with kids can make life miserable. You say go, they sit down. You say stop, they run away. It's like they just have the need to do the opposite of anything you say and pushing the limits with that just cements their stubbornness even further. It is maddening to say the least. So, what do you do?
You do the best you can.
I am no longer worried about getting my kids up and dressed before daycare so clothes are packed in backpacks. As far as I know, no one has ever suffered by wearing jammies all day and secretly I think my kids love it. Breakfast is dry cereal in a bag and lunches are made the night before. Dinner happens whether I prep it early or not and somehow a shower is slipped into the mix. Letting go just a bit allows all of the pieces to fall into place without tears or tantrums...from me. And everything always seems to work out, just maybe not the way I had planned which evidently is just fine.
So mornings continue to be my favorite time of day but for different reasons. I have learned to cherish the calm before the storm even more as it is still my time, even if for just a short bit of time. There is also the sweet anticipation of the good morning hugs yet to come from my two little someones snoozing downstairs.
That is the best part of all...and makes the rest so very worth it.
Hell, who am I kidding...it's difficult all the time.
A life with small children is a testament to this statement. For example, trying to get out of the house on time with two young ones in tow. Oh yes...now you see my point.
Mornings are my favorite time of day and by nature I am an early riser. Those moments before the rest of the world awakens were always very special to me. Whether I was hitting the gym or lingering over my morning joe they were mine and only mine.
That was, of course, before children.
A fly on the wall on any given morning would be exhausted after watching only two minutes of our morning routine...and that is even before my children are up. There are lunches to be finished, coffee to be made (and injected) and the evening's dinner to be prepped. There is the 40 minutes of yoga, my personal sanity saver, to fit in so I can begin to get a grasp on the tasks ahead of me. There is the time it takes to get myself ready and presentable for a day in the professional world...and then there are the kids. My two little lovebugs have also always been early risers so you'd think they'd be up as soon as I was...but nooooo...of course as soon as school starts and we HAVE to get up they decide it is the perfect time to start sleeping in. Go figure.
I am happy if we just get out the door...never mind the state we're in or even if we are remotely on time.
You see, forcing issues with kids can make life miserable. You say go, they sit down. You say stop, they run away. It's like they just have the need to do the opposite of anything you say and pushing the limits with that just cements their stubbornness even further. It is maddening to say the least. So, what do you do?
You do the best you can.
I am no longer worried about getting my kids up and dressed before daycare so clothes are packed in backpacks. As far as I know, no one has ever suffered by wearing jammies all day and secretly I think my kids love it. Breakfast is dry cereal in a bag and lunches are made the night before. Dinner happens whether I prep it early or not and somehow a shower is slipped into the mix. Letting go just a bit allows all of the pieces to fall into place without tears or tantrums...from me. And everything always seems to work out, just maybe not the way I had planned which evidently is just fine.
So mornings continue to be my favorite time of day but for different reasons. I have learned to cherish the calm before the storm even more as it is still my time, even if for just a short bit of time. There is also the sweet anticipation of the good morning hugs yet to come from my two little someones snoozing downstairs.
That is the best part of all...and makes the rest so very worth it.
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