I sent my oldest two to an immersion language school pre-Covid. They were on the Mandarin track. Covid struck, life changed, no more immersion learning.
Fast Forward.
Covid has created a new dynamic. My youngest is now interested in languages. She translates for us after every sentence spoken in her newest language acquisition.
She speaks in farts. So prior to every sentence is a symphony of mouth farts, followed by English. She does this everywhere we go.
We are living our best lives.
This morning my daughter asked me, “were you alive when the guy who made the light bulb died?”
Me:”Thomas Edison?”
Her: “yeah, THAT guy.”
“OH no sweetheart, mommy definitely wasn’t alive. That was a really long time ago , like I don’t know…100 years?”
Her: “No. He died in 2006. It was only 2006. Aren’t you A LOT older than that?”
Me: “Well yes I was around in 2006, but he was definitely already dead.”
Her: “NO. You’re wrong”
It looks like confidence in your own knowledge may be genetic. It has been passed on.
Showing our globe of the world to my little one. Trying to explain our world is round, and these are the land masses and it is a 3d map.
“No, my world is only a little bit round, these are weeks (pointing to Brazil) and this is squished playdoh (China)”
She totally gets it. School is done for the morning, I am retiring.
I was just informed that my little one is hungry, and she cant eat her cereal because….”it hurts my leg. What else do you have?” Nothing child. Nothing.
The travel force and not giving 2 hoots (you know the adult word I’m intimating here) is strong in my child. While this is the “on the way” pic of her shredding a fig bar she later swept to the floor in a 20 minute tantrum, “the way back” cannot be pictured…only described as chewable farts. Proudly claimed after asked, “was that you?” Her reply was through an angelic smile, “yes, my butt likes to talk in whispers.”
Kids are amazing. Ask all the people who listened to her shrieks for an eternity. The first time a flight attendant has ever asked me in my struggle to parent “isnt their anything we can do?” Usually, they just go to the back and buckle in so they dont have to engage in conflict with unreasonable moms like me who may snap at any moment.
why yes, Karen, get this child some apple juice and bring me some more biscoff cookies….and boom. The tears immediately stop. This beautiful child.
To the American Airlines team member, who spoke to my child so nicely and offered her giant chocolates as she was face down on the air walk screaming and blocking passengers from exiting, you. You are my favorite unicorn of a person.
hugs and kisses to all parents travelling this holiday season. What’s your fave pro travel tip?
But now all of my kids know how to make fart sounds with their bodies. What a milestone we’ve reached as a family! It’s a bittersweet symphony of sound over here.
My dad once said, “honestly, I cannot wait to retire so I can buy my myself a giant excavator and dump truck. I could dig great holes all day, and fill them back up. I could do that ALL DAY LONG. Nothing better than a well dug hole.”
Context: my dad was a general contractor in the corporate sector. He built a business, lost it all, then built a career again. He was 3 inches shy of 7ft tall. No one messed with Big Barney.
Through all his work, he found the most satisfying part of a job was digging the foundation. It’s what the whole project hinged on. He could handle the complicated jobs, so they always sent him. Most of the time, he insisted on being present and if not doing the digging being there for this most important part. The whole of his work relied on the perfection of this hole.
When I said I wanted to play basketball ( I was terrible), he took me after work to practice with who he thought was the best coach around. To this day, my best coach ever. My dad took me to every practice & every game for that first season and stayed, making sure I was learning the right things. I had to walk all around the neighborhood carrying that dumb ball. Dribbling it, carrying it, trying not to get it knocked out of my hands by a sneak attack. Why? Because it’s the foundation of the skillset. It’s the base you work from, where our kids confidence stems and grow.
Make sure you dig a good hole today.
Yeah, as I mentioned. It’s been about a week since I checked in. Possibly 2. Why? I rediscovered the “me before kids” with a week alone in NYC. My husband so thoughtfully had a MAJOR win in this year. He thought, “where did Lindsey feel most boss lady? NYC. I’m a gonna send her there. I got this.” This is why having a life partner who is a PARTNER is so important. He gets me. He sacrifices for me as much as I sacrifice for him. More on that another time, but I am so thrifty with praise (my midwestern upbringing) I have to throw some out there onto the interwebs for him. Joshua. He’s amazing.
This is the most important trip I have ever taken. I didn’t think it would be. I thought it would just be awesome. I remembered me. I remembered what it was like to feel re-charged, think only of myself. Have time to reflect on what is important to me. Re-connect with friends. As an entrepreneur I am often my only cheerleader. As a mom, I get hugs and kisses, but they are paid for in full with butt wipes & everday servitude. At least that’s what it feels like…. to spend time alone was a reminder of all the things I have to be thankful about, and while I may have given up many wonderful things by having a family- I have received much in return. It’s just different stuff (all that “much”) that I’ve received.
Upon my return home, a DarrenDaily popped up in my inbox. It was about not missing the point. All too often we focus on growth, challenge, money, things, achievement, and miss the point of why we are here. Here in this life, on this journey & path. More on my trip in the future- but man. Here’s my point today.
As a mom, when I’m in the thick of it- I feel as though I am a shell of my former self. The chaos of my kids can sometimes leave me empty. My little vampires often overlook my emotional need to fill me up with hugs and kisses, especially when they are full of their own emotions & their cup runneth over so to speak. It is so important to pay homage to who you were and sometimes re-connect yourself to all you still have left of YOU. How much you’ve grown, and think about where you’d like to head next. Whether it’s an hour away. A night to yourself. Meditation. Exercise. We all need to find our happy place and spend a little time there so we can be our best selves. Not for our kids, but so we can stay on the course in this marathon. We can not do it all. We don’t have to. Take 20 minutes to go and breathe. Your kid can eat mac n cheese from a box today & leave that floor unswept- there’s going to be mac n cheese on it in 20 minutes anyways.
“Mom, come here. Mom.”
Me walking into bathroom.
My 4 year old, “do you smell it? My poop. CAN YOU SMELL IT?”
“yes. I smell it.” She asks me to do this every time she goes potty. She’s curious to see if it smells the same to both of us & also so I can wipe her butt…because that’s gross.
Today she has more to add. “I know what it smells like now.”
“Oh yeah?”
“The sheep. My poop smells like the sheep.”
It doesn’t. It smells like the pigs, but I really dont want to go down that rabbit hole of a conversation.
I think my age group is finally starting to look like Mandy Moore in “This is Us.” Bad makeup, aged too much, too soon.
Its killing me.
steelemommy 