Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Stream of thought...

Whew. Finding it harder to post MEANINGFUL posts nowadays. Busy bee that I am. You know, with all of my own INTERESTS. Like sitting at soccer practice, helping with homework, and walking to school and back 3 times a day. Oh, and my favorite of being solely responsible 90% of the time for 3 kids. (Patrick's new hours are really killing me...). BUT. Then I think about the fact that I am blessed to have 3 healthy children that can PLAY soccer, that the boys are actually not resistant to homework (yet) and that I am still brilliant enough in their minds to KNOW their homework. :) I'm sure the day will come that I have to actually THINK about their work, all too soon...

I'm amazed that my mind can be in 17 places at once. Right now, I am listening to Corinne in the other room. Watching the Wiggles... how many more years of preschool shows do I have? How much longer will it be acceptable for me to hold a conversation in Playschool Disney lingo and be able to blame it on having a baby? (BTW, gotta write to Disney channel. I'm sure they don't realize that they have Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on at the WRONG time. It should be on when we arrive home from our morning walk from school. Please correct this problem, Disney execs. Thanks much.) Corinne shouts for "Meekey Mouse Cubhouse!!" the second we walk in the door. Must record more of those shows...

Yesterday brought another bout of slap-your-face gratitude for me. How can I bitch about Justin's soccer practice when thousands of families are marking another year gone without their loved ones? I had a whole post in my head about how I was angry that Justin was getting pushed around by a few boys at practice yesterday. I didn't want to jump in as I'm sure I would have embarrassed him, but it was breaking my heart. Of course, when they push him, he pushes back and he always seems to be the one that is caught. Sigh... And when I talked to him, he justified it with "they're my friends, Mom!" Yeah. Do "friends" single you out and trip you? I am teetering on the edge of what is appropriate for boys to be "boys" and what is bullying... Patrick will be home in time (theoretically) tomorrow so he can sit with me and help me judge the practice. But in the big scheme of things, 8 year old bullies are no big deal. Adult bullies with airplanes and guns: those are the real bullies. Maybe they were mean as kids??? Note to all: hug a bully. They need some love.

I have threads of thoughts that rush through my head every day. Right now, I could write about the picture of my grandmother on my desk, as a young woman, sitting with her Mother, and one sister and one brother (there were 7 siblings). How different and how similar our lives were...

(My grandma is on the far right...)

I could write about how I cried this morning when I found out that I couldn't take Corinne to a birthday party on Saturday because Patrick has to work. WHAT is up with that? Emotional overload that just has to spill out somewhere? Yes... probably...

I could write about how proud I am of Evan. He has really taken to school. He hasn't had any issues with other kids, with keeping his hands to himself, or with following rules. He gets only "green" days and seems to be making tons of friends. Yesterday, he came into the house, grabbed his extra writing book I have had for him for about 2 years now, and started practicing his letters. WITHOUT prompting! WithOUT any rewards! Just because he likes school and wants to get better at his letters!! I must document that, for it will pass only too soon, I am sure! Still, to have such a different experience with Evan in school is nice. He and Justin are so completely different, it's almost impossible to define.

I could write about how Justin's school year is 1000% different than last year. That he is doing his homework every night, following the routines, and that he hasn't gotten in any serious troubles. That this is amazing to me. That, aside from 2 episodes this week (one at soccer practice. Sigh...), his tantrums have also taken a serious nosedive. That I am FINALLY hopeful that things are maturing in his head. That he may be "normal" one day and not have to have explanations for his behavior. He will always be the stubborn one. The one to question EVERYthing. But that's ok. I honestly have no idea where he got that trait, ahem, but I know that it's not a bad trait. I am personally grateful that I question things, and that he will, too.

I could write about the lovely cool weather. The orange leaves on the oak trees. The yellow bean fields and the joy I felt this morning when I put on jeans. JEANS, people. My butt kicks ass in jeans. Shorts, meh, my legs are ok. But my butt was always my saving asset (heh, heh asset) in high school, and still looks pretty good. As long as it's ensconsced in bluejeans. Oh, and that my belly isn't hanging over the top. Then I'm solid. :)

So. Here I am. Happy, sad, cold, caffeinated, busy, lonely, grateful, and greedy.

14 comments:

Beck said...

Oh! "Meeska Mooska!" is what gets shouted at MY house. It's a shame that you don't live closer - Corinne and The Baby could have long, obsessive talks about the excellence that is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

:) Beck. She actually listens to MM's questions. "Which shape?" DAT ONE Meeeekey!! DAT ONE!!!

Tonya said...

You definitely had many thoughts today!

Unknown said...

Lots of thoughts, indeed. Although I wouldn't dismiss the bully situation as normal kid behavior.

Melissa said...

Lots of thoughts today! I'm sorry your husband is working long hours. Never a fun thing to try and deal with. I hope that you can get the bullying situation figured out. We dealt with bullies last fall in school. It was a trying time for all of us. Good luck!

we are reilly said...

WOW -- great post! My husband works long hours too -- it's VERY straining on a marriage and on family life. I argued with him one time that I do 90% of the parenting and he had the guts to ask to me "take that back" - NO WAY MISTER@!! I parent 90% of the time and that's the FINAL word!

painted maypole said...

great post about the complexities of life.

we are dealing with a few bully/exclusion issues here, too. In fact, just wrote about them today!

Jamie said...

Ok, you crack me about the jeans...

Michelle said...

I don't know how you do it w/3 kids either and your hubby working long hours! I'm babysitting 2 other kids this week (and 2 days last week) and there is a reason I am not a home day care provider! LOL I'm just glad it's only Kayla when they finally go home at the end of the day LOL I guess it is a bit different when they are your own kids though.

Miss Hope said...

Better be careful or you might fly off that out of control merry go round you're riding! Having three kids my own self, sometimes I literally get dizzy trying to switch gears and mind set to deal with the individual. I have a teenager (with the worse problems in the ENTIRE world!!!) and a three year old who worships the Mouse, too. Don't forget the 8 year old who gets lost in the shuffle because she's so laid back.

I start to get out of whack when I have to remember, like you did, that there are babies without parents today because of what happened on that terrible day.

My husband works long hours, too. (The Navy really doesn't give him a choice on that). Now I'm learing to be so grateful when he does get to come home.

Good post. Very thought provoking....

Ruby said...

Great post. You did have a lot on your mind.

Isn't having pictures like that great? Pieces of our ancestry that we could pass down to our children so that they can see where they come from.

Mine is working long hours too and I so agree with you.

I'm glad the kids are doing so well! Hope they keep it up!!

Elle*Bee said...

From one multi-tasking mind to another: I so hear you!

Kailani said...

We all get up and do the Mickey Mouse dance each morning. I pretend that I'm Goofy. LOL!

Kailani
An Island Life

Rima said...

Hey, we have a few things in common - my husband's name is Patrick and his hours are killing me, too! I hear ya!

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