It Makes Perfect Sense

We are several weeks into the school year and the kids have been learning a lot.  It makes me smile to see my kids spewing out of their mouth the educational things they learn at school.

 

Tonight, a conversation took place that just made me giggle.  Jaykob hollered from his room, where he was getting his jammies on, to me in Ella's room, where I was setting out her school clothes.

"Hey Mom! Did you watch the news yesterday?"

(Really!? I can't even remember what I wore yesterday, let alone if I watched the news!?!?!)

"Ummmmm, I can't remember, Jayk.  Why?"

"Some scientist made a discovery yesterday."

Still upset about loosing Pluto as one of our planets in our Solar System, I was bracing to hear what the scientific community was going to throw on me now!

"What kind of discovery?"

"This scientist said that some apple juice has poison in it!!!"

Relieved that my planets were not all out of whack, I replied:

"Yes, I had heard something about that yesterday."

"I don't believe it for a second, Mom.  We drink a lot of apple juice and we are just fine."

As a non-alarmist when it comes to things like that, I was proud at his pragmatic way of thinking.  


Insert comment from yet another other room where 3rd, rather dogmatic, 6-year-old member of the family chimed in...

"Well, Jaykob, I believe in God!  

I DON'T believe in science!  

I heard a story where God was represented as the color PINK 

and you KNOW I like the color pink!  

And scientists were represented as the color yellow 

and well, pink is so much prettier than yellow.  

I love pink and I definitely believe in God.  

I do not believe in scientists!"

Lord, Help Me!

Well, the thing I have feared for years has finally happened! I have dreaded this moment for eight long years and knew the time would come.

I have sought out every opportunity for this event NOT to happen. I have withheld anything related to the subject in hopes of thwarting any schemes. I have avoided the subject in conversation in fear that the mere thought might plant ideas and notions in the heads of curious minds. Some might argue the fact that I merely worried on it beseeched the event to happen.

No matter how hard I tried, my efforts failed.

It happened.

One of my children cut their own hair.

Did I mention she actually used safety scissors???

When I questioned said individual about her choice, her response was child-like & simple.

"It was in my eyes."

Albeit not what I wanted in the way of hairstyles for my four-year old (I still have choosing rights for several more years, right?), she has some pretty sweet stylist skills! Her trim was pretty precise! Not too long. Not too short. A perfect length.

It has been several days and I am still a little perturbed every time I see those pesky little bangs we worked so hard and so long to grow out. Its just hair. It will grow back. I will get over it.

I thought for sure when we hit four years old, I could relax my fears. Clearly, I was mistaken. Point proven, Ella.

My new fear... this is just the beginning of the mischief to come out of this little girl! Ornery little thing.

Momma always prayed I'd have one like me!

LORD, HELP ME!!!

The Princess Bride

Yes... I am going there. I have been intrigued by the Royal Wedding. I admit it. I am not a part of the crazies that awoke at 4 in the morning to get the first glimpse...I was not THAT intrigued! Before I get inundated with comments from you crazies that actually did partake in the live showing of the wedding, I applaud you for your commitment. I said I was intrigued, not insane! :)After waking up well after the nuptials were over, I turned on the Today Show to catch the famous first kiss. Sweet. I took in several pictures via the internet throughout the day of the Duke and Duchess of Cambidge (Prince William and Princess Catherine sound so much better), but I saved my wedding party for Friday night.

I made every attempt to dominate conversation with Jayk, Addi & Ella on Friday, April 29th to direct it to hype up the wedding with them. The girls took the bait and were getting more and more geeked about it as the day rolled on.

The kids and I got jammied up and snuggled in with some fresh popcorn and a warm blanket on Mommy & Daddy's bed (Tony had a softball game, not that he would be at all interested in anything relating to the Royal Wedding). Following in his father's disinterest of The Royals, Jayk was more intrigued by Angry Birds than ball gowns and tiaras. However, when the grand event began, his sweet expression changed and he watched with curious expectation as to what would unfold.

The girls giggled with delight at the first appearance of Kate Middleton. In my British knowledge, I explained to them that she was a commoner at the moment but was soon to become Royalty and Kate Middleton would become PRINCESS CATHERINE (yes, that was said with a British accent as if reading a Royal proclamation...a la Cinderella). I am pretty sure it was Addi who actually squealed when Kate got out of the car. She does have a flair for the dramatic (wonder where that comes from???).

Thank goodness for DVR because I was able to fast forward through loooooooooooong parts! All three kids were mesmerized by the wedding, the carriage ride, and then the kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace (Jayk didn't even seem to mind the quick kiss). The whole event itself was memorable but it was the memory-making with the kids that was most special.

Throughout the evening, Ella matter-of-factly announced that "I want to be Princess Catherine when I grow up!" I have no doubt in my mind that, of any of my children, she is determined enough to find a Prince to marry. Addi peppered me with questions about British Aristocracy that either I felt proud I was knowledgeable enough to answer or I made up answers that would suffice the curiosity of a six-year old. But it was Jayk's single question as the whole event unfolded that, I hope, will stay with me forever.

With furrowed brow that only accompanies intense pondering, my happy-go-lucky little man leaned over to me and quietly said,

"Mom...I didn't know Prince and Princesses were real."

"OH YES!!!!"

came my surprised reply followed by my long explanation of Prince Harry, Prince William, Princess Catherine, Prince Charles, Princess Di, Prince Blah, Blah, Blah. As I attempted to go down the Royal lineage, his brow furrowed even more and the wheels in his eight-year old brain cranked even harder attempting to make sense of whatever ideas it was he had jumping around in his head.

Jayk paused for a moment and snuggled in closer to me and pensively asked,

"Well if Prince and Princesses ARE real... then are dragons real?"

Explanations to My Unfinished Tasks

I heard today that
a preschooler requires Mom's attention
EVERY 4 MINUTES.
She is inquisitive.
She is smart .She is creative.
She is expressive.

She makes her opinions known.

She likes to get her way.

She is my 210-times-a-day distraction.
She is my Ella.

From Kindergarten to College

It always seems that bedtime brings out the best of conversations with my kids. Perhaps it is their refusal of sleep or their secret desire to drag bedtime on into infinity with “just one more thing, Mom.” I prefer to think of it as a special time when each child has a moment of Mom’s undivided attention. Bedtime can be stressful at times and like so many other moms, I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world those special “clicks” on the mental camera for me to treasure.

This particular bedtime conversation came after a very typical Sunday...nothing special happened but the conversation brought a tear to my eye at the thoughts coming out of my sweet 5-year old girl, all the while leaving a knot the size of Texas in my throat and the flashes of my mental camera feverishly clicking away.

Seeming to mustering up all the courage in her body, my Addi stated:

“Mommy, I am worried about going to college.”

Did this really just come out of her mouth?

Zillion of things surged through my mind. Just the other day I so proudly walked her into her first day of Kindergarten. And years of life’s little moments yet to be had flickered illusionary visions. Practicing with her for endless days before her first dance recital, all dressed in her favorite color, pink. Late night study sessions before her big calculus test. Listening for hours to her excitement about the boy who paid her a compliment in homeroom. Warning her, as only a mother can, about all the woes boys can bring while watching her and her sister roll their eyes and giggle at the thoughts. Hugging her endlessly after her first broken heart, hurting deeply myself because I know it won’t be her last.

Then we jumped to college?!?!?

Why, Addi?

I think I will miss you too much. I will want to come home and see you all the time and go to our church on Sunday.

Trying to sound as convincing as I can to her while I desperately attempt to convince myself, I say:

That’s fine, Addi. You can come home whenever you want and I can come visit you all the time when you are away at college.

With tears streaming down her face, she replies:

But I won’t be able to hug you and snuggle you whenever I want.

I am quickly loosing my battle with the growing lump in my throat.

It’s ok, Addi. You know Mommy loves you SO much and I will miss you a bunch too but we can talk on the phone, see each other on the computer and visit each other all the time.

But it won’t be the same, Mommy.

There it went...That tear I had been holding back slipped over the rim of my eyelid.

College is a long time away, Addi, and I am sure by the time it gets here, you will be ready to go.

I am not so sure I will be ready for her to go.

I am not so sure, Mommy.

Clearly there is work to be done in the next thirteen years to get us both ready.

Honey, going to Kindergarten was a big step for you and after you went, you were really glad you did because you really like it, right?

Yeah, but college is different. It is really far away and I won’t see you much.

Yep, another tear. There it went.

Seeming to have found her logic, she states:

Mommy, do you know who will go to college before me?

Who, sweetheart?

Jaykob does! So I guess I can see what it’s all about then.

Addi, would you like to pray about college and tell God about your worries?

Matter of factly, she replies:

Nope. We can pray about it when I go.

I knew the financial preparations required for college needed to be in place now, but I was certain I would have a good eight - ten years before I would need to tackle the mental side of college preparation.

Sweetheart, you can bet your bottom dollar Mommy will be on her knees praying.

Thoughts at the Bottom of the Beanstalk

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jack who was about to climb his very first beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand-new backpack.

Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same beanstalk almost every day last year, this was Jack's first day and he was a little nervous. So was his mother.

Early in the morning, she brought him to the foot of the beanstalk. She talked encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have that day and how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that she would be back to pick him up at the end of the day. For a moment, they stood together, silently holding hands, gazing up at the beanstalk. To Jack, it seemed much bigger than it had when his mother had pointed it out on the way to the store last week. His mother thought it looked big too. She swallowed.

Jack's mother straightened his shirt one last time, patted his shoulder and smiled down at him. She promised to stay and wave while he started climbing. Jack didn't say a word.

He walked forward, grabbed a low-growing stem and slowly pulled himself up to the first leaf. He balanced there for a moment and then climbed more eagerly to the second leaf, then to the third and soon he vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with never a backward glance at his mother.

She stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing up at the spot where Jack disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement, no sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside.

"Sometimes," she thought, "it's harder to be he one that waves good-bye than it is to be the one who climbs the beanstalk."

She wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave? Did his giant understand that little kids sometimes act silly when they felt unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the stalk after Jack and maybe duck behind a bean to take a peek at how he was doing.

"I'd better not. What if he saw me?" She knew Jack was really old enough to handle this on his own. She reminded herself that, after all this was thought to be an excellent beanstalk and that everyone said his giant was not only kind but had outstanding qualifications.

"It's not so much that I'm worried about him," she thought, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's just that he's growing up and I'm going to miss him."

Jack's mother turned to leave. "Jack's going to have lots of bigger beanstalks to climb in his life," she told herself. "Today's the day he starts practicing for them... And today's the day I start practicing something too: cheering him on and waving good-bye."

All Work and No Play... Nah!!!

What beautiful scenery!

End of story...