The other day I was at the playground, (I tend to hang out at the playground a lot), this time with just my two little men. We were waiting for Jem (pictured below) to finish his soccer practice at an adjacent field.
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| Francis was fussy ’cause he didn’t want to go. |
Lots of soccer = lots of waiting. I figure, might as well get myself some exercise and run the hyper toddler like a little Pamplona bull.
That’s called a win-win situation.
There was only one other mom there–a very nice mom who didn’t mind chatting. (Sometimes they do, you know–they avoid all eye contact like the plague and hide behind the screen of their smart phone.) “How old are your boys?” she asked, pushing her four-year-old on the swing.
“They’re five and one and 1/2,” I told her.
“Well, you’re busy!” she said. “Yes, I am,” I replied, thinking, “She don’t know the half of it!”
Speaking of soccer, I told this story on Facebook but want to repeat it here ’cause it’s really cute. We were at Angela’s game and there was a little boy next to me. He asked his mom for a sip of her soda and then remarked, “Do you remember the time that I had some root beer? And it tasted like pop? Because it was pop?”
The mom and I shared a smile over his head.
4-year-olds are just incredibly awesome.
Going back to that conversation at the playground…
Later I thought about what I could have said to that mom–that actually, my two little boys are the youngest of seven and that I’m enjoying it a lot more this time around. I am, too! I worried too much when I was a new mom, probably because I tried too hard to seem perfect. Now? Ha. I’m too old to care, and plus I know that these innocents are growing up SO fast.
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| Another photo that I “grammed” yesterday. I love this book for teaching Kindergarten science! |
So try not to sweat the small stuff today. Go to the library; go to the park; go to the grocery store and buy a backyard picnic! Whatever you do, don’t try to be perfect, and please please PLEASE don’t expect your kids to be, either.
‘Cause you’re not and they’re not and it’s all good.
Can you believe that I have one whose 4th Birthday is today? Yes, 4 yr. olds are terrific. (At least that's what he told me last night when I asked him why he wanted to be 4.) Very funny about the little guy and the pop! Our elderly neighbour used to struggle to find a treat without gluten or dairy for the kids when they helped her with a job. Ha, ha she found out that they love pop (and did not get it at home) so that is now their official treat with her. She serves it in Champaign glasses – so fancy.
Hope your day is going good! Blessings.
Thanks for this post, and the reminder that we don't need to be perfect. I struggle sometimes trying to get out of that mindset. I always say that I'm a new mom x2, since my kids are 17 months and 11 weeks…a whopping 14 months apart! There definitely wasn't time to shake that "new mom" feeling.
Caitlin Powell
livingpowell.blogspot.com