happiness – Page 28 – Writes for all Mommies

It’s after school, the weather is gorgeous and we are outside playing in the cul-de-sac. The new neighbor boy, who is seven, has anxiously waited for my boys to come home. He seems to enjoy having two, small pseudo-brothers to play with.

They all are on pedal-powered vehicles of all shapes and sizes. They are crashing into each other and having a blast. It’s fun to watch T.Puzzle try to keep up with the big boys. He imitates his brother to perfection. So much in fact that when Full Speed goes kersplat, T.Puzzle slows his trike, leans over and fully commits to falling, too. Pete and Re-Pete that’s what my Mom used to call them. As that thought automatically pops into my head, I pause and think of her. I’m really missing her lately.

pete falls down

I don’t have time to ponder my sadness for long. I am hopelessly attempting to teach T.Puzzle how to pedal, which for some odd reason angers him tremendously. While I am doing this, the aromatic air swishing back towards me indicates he needs a diaper change. We head inside and take care of business. No sooner than we return, Full Speed announces, â€œI need to poop!â€ The urgency with which he states this indicates he better move fast. He hesitates because he is scared to go in the house alone. I tell him to get over himself as I have to gather up T.Puzzle who is clear across the way before I can go in. He does, but it’s not without complications.

By the time I grab T.Puzzle and head inside, Full Speed is running frantically out of the house with his underwear around his ankles near hysterics. â€œWhere were you, Mommy!?! I don’t want to be alone!â€ I’m feeling exasperated yet slightly amused at watching a half-naked Full Speed attempt to maneuver with the constraints of his underwear around his ankles. Eventually, things calm down and both boys have sparkly-clean tushies.

We go outside. The neighbor boy announces he is thirsty. Guess what? Pete and re-pete realize at that instant they are parched as well. We all head back inside again, drinks are distributed and I begin to contemplate putting them all in the garage in lockdown.

Once everyone’s thirst has been quenched, we return outdoors. Even though life in general can be cumbersome with small kids, I’m glad we stayed the course and remained outside. To watch them in their glory made my heart smile. I’d repeat that any day of the week.

Today was our triumphant return to Tae Kwon Do. I was feeling joyful because Full Speed has been given the greenlight to fully participate in his usual physical activities. It filled my heart up to see him back in uniform and out on that mat (he had an awesome class).

T.Puzzle, well he’s a different story. I was feeling fear, anxiety, trepidation and any other emotion or feeling that constitutes dread. I was not looking forward to him hiding under a table at the Tae Kwon Do facility wailing his distress for all of Florida to hear.

I squared my shoulders and placed a hardened veneer over my soul. I was going to be the one in charge. I put on my scariest â€˜Mommy face’ and used my most frightening â€˜Mommy voice’ upon our arrival. I was so intimidating that a ripple of fear went through the watching crowd of parents and fellow students. I was so on my game, I frightened myself a little.

T.Puzzle sat like an angel on the mat. He did not move a muscle. I was victorious (finally!).

Class itself played out differently. T.Puzzle lost interest about twenty minutes in and nothing the instructor could do got him to focus. Of course that Mad Dog surprised us (yippee!) and was sitting on the sidelines didn’t help matters. T.Puzzle kept looking at him and was twirling and whirling around to show off for his Dad. Twirling and whirling are not exactly fitting with a Tae Kwon Do warrior’s repertoire. He was admonished harshly by the instructor at several points. The instructor even asked me in the middle of class if T.Puzzle had been given any soda during the day. I denied it vehemently (he did not). And, I wasn’t about to tell him of the freshly emptied fruit snack wrappers on the floor of my truck.

In the end, T.Puzzle had to sit off to the side of the mat because he had reached a point of no return. He was unphased and found his reflection in the mirrors highly entertaining.

The tides of war may be shifting in my battle against the terrible twos. Even though he clearly had an army of ants in his pants during class, little brother’s level of compliance prior to the start of class was the highest its ever been.

That is the icing on my cake because big brother Full Speed is back and life is good.

Category: happiness

Pete and Re-Pete

Full Speed is Back