Midnight Musings: Parenthood

Actually, 3am musings...but midnight sounds better

ahem.


Guy on the trail today, "Babies! Oh, Mamas, you are so lucky!"
Me to other mama: "Yeah, you know, he' right."
Other Mama: "He is."
Joe: "Huh, that guy was weird."

Haha! He was a bit cooky! Tall, white haired older guy with 80's themed, colorful clothes. We saw him while walking around Lake Harriet with friends today and I've been thinking of him and what he said. It was another of those, "don't blink or you'll miss it" reminders. Happened again this afternoon in the grocery store parking lot. A grandma across the lane in the parking lot stopped and waved and talked to Henry a little bit. He did not engage, but she was thrilled to make eye contact with this baby. Don't blink!

So here is what parenting looks like now:

It's wrapping up our first year with a kindergartner.

I was so torn up about sending her to school that first day...and for about 6 months after. Had I not felt spiritual confirmation that it was in her best interests to go to school, I would have pulled her for homeschooling. We all missed her terribly, and not having all my babies around me all the time felt like the end of a golden era. But how satisfying it has been to see her grow and develop and love learning, and her teacher and her classmates and and her lessons and her field trips. Every mini-essay, every video and picture sent by her teacher, every delighted story she shares over an after-school snack or at the dinner table, is absolutely filled to the brim with cuteness that melts me in a puddle of warm fuzzies. Watching her navigate social waters has been a little stressful - just be nice to my kid, kids! - but the triumphs have been sweet! I have felt to pray with her just before she walks out the door in the mornings that she will have the Spirit with her to help her learn a lot and to be a good friend to those around her, and you know, she has, on both counts! She is wonderful. School is wonderful. I look forward to the years ahead on this wild ride! And I wonder how long before she doesn't want me to crawl in bed with her at night so we can have a cuddle a heart-to-heart. Yesterday when I told her it was time for me to go out now and for her to go to sleep, she giggled and said, "Yeah, we are just a couple of girls chatting late at night. We just like each other so much!" We do like each other so much!

Parenting now is being quietly impressed with Joe's thoughtfulness in taking care of his baby brother and his own preparation for school starting in the fall. He's so smart. The other day he bit his pretzels into "rain drops" and then bit one into a "B" to spell "brain." Roll your eyes at my mother-doting - the way the kid thinks is just...cool. He also makes me count with him when we're in the car. I've counted to 100 more times than any sane person can handle (that's right, I'm insane now), and he's begun to try to count in patterns. "2+2=4, 4+4=8, 8+8=16, 16+16=....Mom! What comes next!" He gave us a run for our money the first 9 months of Henry's life in learning how to be gentle with a baby, but boy has he come into his role as big brother. He has learned to wrestle and not hurt him! (Henry LOVES it - is actually the instigator more often than not). Joe coo's and talks him down when Henry is hating his car seat. Joe does NOT believe in letting a baby cry for any length of time. More than once I've thought that Henry soothed himself and is now napping, when actually, it's just Joe is in there throwing his toys in his crib or entertaining him with his antics.

Parenting now is THE BABY! Still killing it with all that cuteness! Getting very good at communicating without saying actual words, just babbles, grunts, and head banging. Has mostly "baby-proofed" the house by now (read, already broken everything within his reach...). It's NOT BEING ABLE TO SLEEP more than 5 hours in a row because of his feeding habits, so, even though he actually hasn't woken up all night on this rare occasion, here I am, awake at 3:30am, writing about his highness (the allergies might also be to blame).  Parenting is coming home from work and hoping to make it before he goes down so I can hear his baby roar and stomp-walk coming down the hall to greet me with outstretched arms. He is into anything and everything, but, that's what anything and everything is there for, right? No? Yes. He has pulled us all into his orbit and we all thoroughly enjoy being part of his world.

 Glad I got that off my chest. Now, sleepy time.