Tag: parenting

children, humor, kids, motherhood, parenting

Ninja Santa

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We had ‘Breakfast with Santa’ at Full Speed’s school.  The key is to go early and get your Santa photo before the cinnamon rolls and pancakes.  As we exited the photo area with our pictures, Full Speed spotted his principal.  He called out to her and proudly showed off his Santa photo (he later told me he KNEW Santa was the school custodian which I neither confirmed nor denied).  As she politely commented on how my boys were adorable beyond all measure and Full Speed was extraordinary in every possible way (or something like that), T.Puzzle chose this moment to take the photo, use it as a sword and try to behead Full Speed.

I’m pretty sure my boys are now a permanent part of the school’s ‘watch list’.  I’m proud to say that at least T.Puzzle showed some brilliant and precise sword maneuverings.  It’s always good to play to your strengths.

Ho, ho, ho!

children, kids, motherhood, parenting

Snowfall

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Full Speed back when snow was not his friend

The turkey is gone, thanks has been given and now it’s time for more holiday cheer.  The positive to living in a warmer climate is that there is no snow for Christmas.  The negative is that there is no snow for Christmas.  It is awfully hard to drum up Christmas spirit when you’ve sent your boys to school in shorts all year.

I saw an ad on television where there were mounds and mounds of snow.  It brought back many midwestern memories and I was reminded of how much Full Speed hated snow as a little one.  When I would pick him up from preschool during winter the reports from teachers, besides the obvious won’t-sit-still-for-a-moment ones, were how he would cry in misery when it was time for outside recess.  If Mad Dog and I would attempt to pull him on a small sled around our yard, he would yelp in frustration as tears would freeze on his tiny, unhappy face.  Looking back I can actually say that the memory of it is kind of sweet.  Living through it was awful and yet time has dulled the sharp edges of Full Speed’s snow-covered tantrums.

What I realized is that if I can finally find the humor in Full Speed’s snow experience, maybe whatever challenges I face with him today will have the same result.

I guess into each life a little snow must fall and it’s up to us to find a way to shape it into something lighthearted…eventually.

children, humor, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Off to the Races

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Everything is not a race.  Could someone please, please tell this to my boys?

They race to the breakfast table, to the store and to the post office.  They race each other, they race me (even when I’m not actually racing them) and they race their toys.  On particularly frightening days, they attempt to race through parking lots (my least favorite kind of racing).

Frankly, I’m worn out. 

Why can’t they race to see who will be the best behaved, most complimentary to Mom or finish their brocoli first?

At this rate the only thing I’m racing towards is old age.

children, eyesight, health, life in pictures, motherhood, parenting

Eye Hope So

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T.Puzzle gets ready for his letter read through
Full Speed moves into place for his eye exam

The boys had their six month eye check-up and even though it ended up being fairly routine with a good dose of positive news thrown in, I was kind of a mess.  As a parent if you have ever experienced a traumatic medical appointment for your child, it never really leaves you.  When Full Speed was first diagnosed with vision issues over five years ago, the initial prognosis was bleak.  Years of testing, surgeries and follow-up care have thankfully stabilized his vision and his future.

After all this time and all the hard work to get both boys to a place of good vision, I still can’t let go of that first, horrible assessment for Full Speed.  The logical place of my brain says to focus on how amazing they are doing but sometimes fear takes over.  I hold my breath every time either one of them does a read through of letters as their visual acuity is tested.  My whole body tenses as their ophthalmologist peers into their dilated eyes evaluating their physical structure.

Realistically, I may never fully get over my fear.  Life, parenting and health are too precarious for that.  To counteract life’s uncertainty all I can do is give thanks for every kind of health-related appointment that is routine.

That’s all any of us can do.

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