While proper bloggers would probably separate two completely separate thoughts into two completely separate posts, that's not really how I do it, so please excuse the complete lack of transition coming your way in a couple of minutes. (Most of you are my friends and know that this is how I talk and think so, really, you can't complain too much.)
I would first like to talk about my fiesty second-born child. She is nearly two months beyond her fourth birthday and is full of spontaneous thoughts and questions. The truth is that I absolutely adore being around her.
Except for the times that she makes me so angry, I have to take deep breaths and walk away from her so that I do not hit her.
On Thursday afternoon, and then again yesterday, my darling daughter took off on her bike while riding in the street and ignored me as I screamed her name and screamed for her to STOP. Both times, as I observed to Eli, I was so furious with her by the time I caught her (which I can do, but barely, as she is just so damn fast on that thing), I could have hit her. But instead, I calmly picked her up off her bike, deposited her on the sidewalk, picked up her bike and stalked off until I could talk to her without losing my business completely. I haven't let her back on the bike either day and yesterday she walked what has to be close to a mile home (for Tommy this is no big deal, for Lizzie, it's a long way).
Note that I also had to carry a heavy bike all the way home both days. But, this is what parenting is all about isn't it.
I told her that if she does it again, she's losing the bike for a week, which of course means nothing to her, as she still confuses 'tomorrow' and 'yesterday'. I also explained that my number one task as her mother is to keep her safe and that it is decidedly not safe for a four-year old to ride alone as fast as she can in a street. But I have a hunch that she is already planning to do it again. I really do.
"I'm sorry, Mama! I tried to listen!" and "You don't forgive me?" were moving the strangers walking past us on the way home, but they did not move me. And here's why. That girl thinks that if her brother can do something, then so can she. In many ways, this serves her well - but when there are different rules because of differing levels of skill (due almost completely to age), her theory is wrong. Because I'm her mom, and I said so. Tommy is allowed to ride on streets, when I tell him he may, when we have identified where he will stop and wait for me, when we have discussed what he will do in the unlikely event that he sees a car move. (That's the beauty of Tommy. He could see a car two blocks away, and he would hop off his bike and go to the side of the road and wait for it to pass.) Lizzie is just peddling as fast as she can, unless she sees a dog or a cat in which case she will stop no matter where she is and what's going on around her.
Luckily, she is full of gems such as this one, which make it all worthwhile:
Me: "what's your very favorite thing to do?"
Lizzie: "hey, you know what? Butterflies can fly so fast that the wind can't catch them. I learned that on Diego."
***
Last night was our school's Festival of Choirs and the crazy thing is that Anton Armstrong from St. Olaf was the guest conductor. So we went to the performing arts center, and heard two hundred high schoolers from international schools around the middle east and Africa sing a few pieces of music they had worked on for just two days. It was an impressive performance, and really fun to see a little piece of St. Olaf here in Muscat. Actually, it was sort of crazy, and made me miss college a little bit. In not very many more years at all, it will be 20 years since I graduated from that crazy place. I'm going to that reunion. No matter what.
I told this to Eli and I proclaim it loudly now to the internet, I hope hope hope that when my kids are in high school they are doing things like spending the weekend at a choir festival. (Even if they spend some of the time making out with other choir geeks. )
I would first like to talk about my fiesty second-born child. She is nearly two months beyond her fourth birthday and is full of spontaneous thoughts and questions. The truth is that I absolutely adore being around her.
Except for the times that she makes me so angry, I have to take deep breaths and walk away from her so that I do not hit her.
On Thursday afternoon, and then again yesterday, my darling daughter took off on her bike while riding in the street and ignored me as I screamed her name and screamed for her to STOP. Both times, as I observed to Eli, I was so furious with her by the time I caught her (which I can do, but barely, as she is just so damn fast on that thing), I could have hit her. But instead, I calmly picked her up off her bike, deposited her on the sidewalk, picked up her bike and stalked off until I could talk to her without losing my business completely. I haven't let her back on the bike either day and yesterday she walked what has to be close to a mile home (for Tommy this is no big deal, for Lizzie, it's a long way).
Note that I also had to carry a heavy bike all the way home both days. But, this is what parenting is all about isn't it.
I told her that if she does it again, she's losing the bike for a week, which of course means nothing to her, as she still confuses 'tomorrow' and 'yesterday'. I also explained that my number one task as her mother is to keep her safe and that it is decidedly not safe for a four-year old to ride alone as fast as she can in a street. But I have a hunch that she is already planning to do it again. I really do.
"I'm sorry, Mama! I tried to listen!" and "You don't forgive me?" were moving the strangers walking past us on the way home, but they did not move me. And here's why. That girl thinks that if her brother can do something, then so can she. In many ways, this serves her well - but when there are different rules because of differing levels of skill (due almost completely to age), her theory is wrong. Because I'm her mom, and I said so. Tommy is allowed to ride on streets, when I tell him he may, when we have identified where he will stop and wait for me, when we have discussed what he will do in the unlikely event that he sees a car move. (That's the beauty of Tommy. He could see a car two blocks away, and he would hop off his bike and go to the side of the road and wait for it to pass.) Lizzie is just peddling as fast as she can, unless she sees a dog or a cat in which case she will stop no matter where she is and what's going on around her.
Luckily, she is full of gems such as this one, which make it all worthwhile:
Me: "what's your very favorite thing to do?"
Lizzie: "hey, you know what? Butterflies can fly so fast that the wind can't catch them. I learned that on Diego."
***
Last night was our school's Festival of Choirs and the crazy thing is that Anton Armstrong from St. Olaf was the guest conductor. So we went to the performing arts center, and heard two hundred high schoolers from international schools around the middle east and Africa sing a few pieces of music they had worked on for just two days. It was an impressive performance, and really fun to see a little piece of St. Olaf here in Muscat. Actually, it was sort of crazy, and made me miss college a little bit. In not very many more years at all, it will be 20 years since I graduated from that crazy place. I'm going to that reunion. No matter what.
I told this to Eli and I proclaim it loudly now to the internet, I hope hope hope that when my kids are in high school they are doing things like spending the weekend at a choir festival. (Even if they spend some of the time making out with other choir geeks. )
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| Her expression says it all. |
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| We got a new sporting goods store and Lulu wanted to try out boxing. She fell over with her first swing, but was ready for it on her second. |
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