Yestereday before church Daniel started to say something to me. It went something like this:
"Hey Mom...Can I...Can I have..."
and he stopped.
So I followed with, "What?"
And his response was, "Never mind. I will pray about it."
Now isn't that just darling? Aren't we doing a wonderful job raising him in a world of faith and belief in God and prayer?
Curious, I asked him again what he was going to say.
And he followed with, "I want a ripstick for my birthday."
Ugh! He is praying for a ripstick for his birthday! Not for health and happiness or for a friend in need. Nope. A ripstick for his birthday. And he seriously thinks he has a better chance of getting it from God than from me. Ha!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Afro
Daniel: "Hey, there's CJ with his afro!"
Me: "The afro is not like a hat that he puts on and takes off. It is his hair."
Daniel: "Oh. Whatever."
Me: "The afro is not like a hat that he puts on and takes off. It is his hair."
Daniel: "Oh. Whatever."
Monday, August 20, 2012
Innocense
I often think about and discuss with my friends the challenges of parenting a 17 year old and a 7 year old at the same time (with a 15 and 12 year old in between, of course). You know...waiting up for my 17 year old to get home from Great Adventure with her boyfriend then going to bed and having the 7 year old come in and want to sleep with me; looking at colleges with one while teaching the other to read; fighting with her about wearing shorts that are too short and/or shirts that are too low after discovering that he hasn't changed his underwear in 3 days. Having to parent children who are at two polar opposites of the developmental spectrum requires much multi-tasking and the ability to change direction at warp speed. To the outside world I probably seem bi-polar at times.
But what I have never considered until this weekend is how it seems from his perspective...from the eyes of a 7 year old.
I was in the Adirondacks this weekend with my parents, the 4 kids and Brooke's boyfriend. The sleeping arrangements were as follows: Brooke and me in the Queen bedroom, Daniel and Mark in the Double bedroom and Joey and Kevin in the twin beds in the basement. When it came time to put Daniel to bed that first night he asked why he was sleeping with Mark. I didn't comment right away and he went on to say: "Wait. (pause to think) This doesn't make sense. (longer pause to think) I should sleep with you, Kevin should sleep with Mark, and Joey should sleep with Brooke." Wow! I almost choked! But I did manage to keep from laughing. Because really, why wouldn't those be the arrangements? Daniel sleeps with me (and pokes me in the head with his pointy elbow) any chance he gets, Kevin and Mark share a room at home (why wouldn't they here?), and Joey is Brooke's friend. If she had brought a girlfriend, which she has in the past, they would share a room. He has no clue how inappropriate the idea of Brooke and Joey sharing a room is. Why would he? He is 7.
And despite the fact that he knows way more than your average 7 year old, I now know that at least some of his innocense remains intact. Yay me! I am awesome! Actually, I am lucky. Frankly, this has never even ocurred to me. I am raising a child in a world full of teens. And thank God most of the "teen stuff" goes right over his head. So, I just told him, "The sleeping arrangements make perfect sense. Now go to sleep. Good night. I love you." In this case, no explanation was needed. He doesn't need to know. He is 7. And it's a good thing he doesn't need to know. Because damn if I know how to explain that to him! Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. And I just got lucky.
But what I have never considered until this weekend is how it seems from his perspective...from the eyes of a 7 year old.
I was in the Adirondacks this weekend with my parents, the 4 kids and Brooke's boyfriend. The sleeping arrangements were as follows: Brooke and me in the Queen bedroom, Daniel and Mark in the Double bedroom and Joey and Kevin in the twin beds in the basement. When it came time to put Daniel to bed that first night he asked why he was sleeping with Mark. I didn't comment right away and he went on to say: "Wait. (pause to think) This doesn't make sense. (longer pause to think) I should sleep with you, Kevin should sleep with Mark, and Joey should sleep with Brooke." Wow! I almost choked! But I did manage to keep from laughing. Because really, why wouldn't those be the arrangements? Daniel sleeps with me (and pokes me in the head with his pointy elbow) any chance he gets, Kevin and Mark share a room at home (why wouldn't they here?), and Joey is Brooke's friend. If she had brought a girlfriend, which she has in the past, they would share a room. He has no clue how inappropriate the idea of Brooke and Joey sharing a room is. Why would he? He is 7.
And despite the fact that he knows way more than your average 7 year old, I now know that at least some of his innocense remains intact. Yay me! I am awesome! Actually, I am lucky. Frankly, this has never even ocurred to me. I am raising a child in a world full of teens. And thank God most of the "teen stuff" goes right over his head. So, I just told him, "The sleeping arrangements make perfect sense. Now go to sleep. Good night. I love you." In this case, no explanation was needed. He doesn't need to know. He is 7. And it's a good thing he doesn't need to know. Because damn if I know how to explain that to him! Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. And I just got lucky.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)