Archive for the ‘motherhood’ Tag
August 30 2010 ·
10 CommentsPosted in:
Me Myself · Tags:
good,
motherhood Thursday of last week, I did something in the afternoon I haven’t done in a very long time. Jedi was at school, J took Buzz to his speech class. The only souls left to rule the roost were Abby and myself, and she conked out for a nap shortly after the last of the boys left.
I had 2 hours to myself. To do whatever I wanted.
I can’t even remember the last time I had 2 hours to myself. Without my ears on constant alert of destruction. Without stress of what’s going to happen next. Without demands and noise. Without trying to be in a million different places at once.
What do I do with myself for 2 hours?
A few different ideas ran through my mind; I could dust off a book and actually read a few chapters, or skim through a more suitable magazine. I could give myself a manicure. I could soak in a bath, or streak the house naked. I could join Abby in some shuteye. I could even take the initiative and clean like crazy, but there’s no fun in that.
Instead, I sat on the couch. I propped my feet up on the table, an open netbook resting in my lap. The volume on the television decreased to a faint whisper. A soda in one hand, a chocolate donut in the other. Because what says celebration more than junk food. And I did nothing. Absolutely nothing. In peace and quiet.
I haven’t been able to do that in such a long time.
I can’t wait to do it again.
August 24 2010 ·
17 CommentsPosted in:
The Kids · Tags:
Abby,
motherhood “Mommy watch!”
Abby’s positioned on the couch, one of our decorative pillows in hand. I’m trying to do some work on the computer from the chair across from her, but she’s having none of it. If I take my eyes away for a second, she barks even louder, her face in a pout.
“Mommy watch!”
She takes the pillow and pretends to eat it, stuffing a piece in her mouth. Then takes it out, smiling, to do it again. I act briefly impressed at her latest benign talent as I attempt returning to more pertinent matters at hand.
“Mommy watch!”
I look over to find the pillow balancing atop her head now, a smirk resting across her lips. I laugh, saying another few words of strained encouragement before I try to continue working, getting nothing more than a few letters typed.
“Mommy watch!”
She runs to the center of the room before she starts off clumsily spinning. Small actions that to her seem huge. I dart my view away for a moment, when she files to me directly, capturing my cheeks with both hands and wrinkling her tender nose.
“Mommy watch!”
I get it, finally. Whatever I was working on can certainly wait. There’s dances and tricks and funny faces. Matters much more pressing that need my full attention.
August 20 2010 ·
12 CommentsPosted in:
Daily · Tags:
Abby,
good,
motherhood We had a tea party. I’m sorry you weren’t invited, it was a simple affair. A table set for two, mother and daughter. A few minutes of the morning, a small moment in time. No boys allowed even, though it didn’t stop them from trying to intervene.
I’m afraid I forgot to dress up for the occasion. I’ll try to remember to wear my pearls next time. Abby adorned in striped pink pants and blue Flower Power shirt. Dainty ceramic teacups, her Fisher-Price musical teapot. A vessel in my lap with hers clinging against the table. Pinky extended.
She’d fill my cup then walk to hers. Pour. Again and again, I’d pretend to slurp the best tea I’ve ever tasted. If I believe it’s real, and she believes it’s real, then it must be.
“Mmmm… that’s good!”, I exclaimed.
“Some more?”, she asked in a knowing tone, my daughter’s vocabulary expanding every day. What she can say, what she understands.
“Oh, yes please!”, I declared.
Motioning to the pink play teapot, Jedi nudged his way through to ask, “Are you really drinking anything?”
It all depends on what you choose to believe. Love, air, happiness, forgiveness, imagination, even the most delicious tea for two. Some matters might seem mythical, but you don’t have to taste it to know what’s real.
August 16 2010 ·
11 CommentsPosted in:
Daily · Tags:
Jedi,
life,
motherhood The start of school approaching has kicked my butt in gear on a number of tasks I’ve been avoiding. Such as taking Jedi on his first trip to the dentist. I’ve had it in mind that there would be plenty of screaming and kicking and maybe a punch or two. Surprisingly, there was none of that. There was only poop.
While we were waiting in a packed area filled with other kids and families, Jedi remarked boisterously, “I’ve gotta go potty! Oh, no! I think I’ve gotta go STINKY!”.
I motioned him over amidst chuckles from the other waiting room patrons and explained with the slightest whisper, “When they call you back, let her know that you have to go potty. Don’t say stinky, just potty. Nobody else has to know you have to take a poop.”
He told me he understood and went back to sit again. Soon, his name was called and he promptly informed her of his need to potty like I told him to. I wasn’t allowed back with him, but I could hear him clear as day from outside the thin door. He seemed to occupy that bathroom for many, many minutes. Long enough for the dental assistant to take a couple phone calls. I then realized I forgot to remind him to flush the toilet.
Finally, I heard the door open and his little voice declare, “I’m all done.”
What I didn’t hear was a gush of water.
“I hope he flushed the toilet”, I whispered to myself, out loud, into my hand.
The things you never thought you’d worry about before you have kids.
I say this with only a touch of obnoxiousness, because it’s mostly none of my doing, but Jedi is very smart. The majority of his information has been picked up on his own or from the computer. For instance, he’s had an interest in countries and state capitals for as long as I can remember. Noticing his exuberance, we bought him a globe, tacked a map in his room, and let him do the rest. He now knows more about the world around us than I do.
The other afternoon, after searching the internet, Jedi asked, “Mommy, can you help me find M-A-L-E on the globe?”
“I don’t think that’s a place, sweetie. You spelled male, and that’s a boy. You know, like you. You’re a male, and girls, like me, are female. OK?”, I replied with a condescending pat on his head and a silly sweep away. Kids are so funny, I thought.
“But here, on Google Maps, it shows M-A-L-E,” he continued, undaunted by my dismissal.
It appears it did. Surely Google Maps is funny, too, I thought. I tried to be supportive, however, and had him zoom out to it’s exact location.
“There it is!”, Jedi exclaimed. A tiny speck in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Malé, the capital city in the Republic of the Maldives. Obviously an island and not a boy. I learn something new every day, now courtesy of my 6 year old. I’m still trying to teach him, but more often than not he teaches me instead. Funny how that happens.
