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Showing posts from December, 2018

Listen

Flour is swirling around the kitchen like little flakes of snow. My son, who is the cause of the flurries, looks like a very skinny, curly haired snowman, caked head to foot in white flour. Already stressed, I ignore the fact that my kid is the cutest snowman in the world and I bark, “That is not what I meant by keep the flour on the counter!” He grins at me and explains, “I just wanted to clean the counter off so you can make the pies.” I return his smile as I realize that his actions were not an act of random malice but one of love. Together we clean up the flour and begin making pies. As we roll dough out I begin to recall how often I jump to anger before I know the intentions of my son. Too often, I only see the lack of his common sense, when in reality, his thought process often makes more sense than my anger. I ponder other times when my son's logic outshone my understanding, such as, the other day when my son was hysterical that I was not eating my breakfast. I explained tha...

Bedtime Routine

“You can do it. You can make it. You are almost to the finish line. Ready, get set, GO!” I prompt myself as I attempt to hoist my resisting body off of the warm couch. “Time to get ready for bed!” I call to my son. “Go get your toothbrush.” I brace myself for the stream of whining that is bound to follow my announcement. Sure enough, my son assures me, he simply is not tired, not done playing, and certainly not ready to go to bed. I smile as my manipulative mom mind goes to work. “I bet I can get my toothbrush before you!” I challenge, as I run to the bathroom. With his interest piqued, my little boy whirls past me and jumps to his toothbrush. Satisfied, I pull out the toothpaste. Side by side we brush, spit, rinse, and smile. Then off to the room we skip. Errrrrrrrrrrrrk! I slide to a full stop. My eyes take in a mountain of clothes, toys, books, puzzles, a rotten banana peel, and one half of the door to my special jewelry box. First, disbelief spills through me. This room was clean ...