Kate, Amy, Ellie, Leah, Christine, Julie....to name a few.
I feel as if I am in my own little world here, amongst generations above me and generations below. Not much access to my generation except for a playdate here and a playdate there where I am following Charlie like a hawl to make sure he is being the kind, gentle soul i know him to mostly be, or comforting kate who can go from being the happiest baby you have ever seen to crying uncontrollably if a new face enters the scene.
Shift. Parenting. There are philosophies out there and the wonderful thing is we get to pick and choose the one that works for us. And then we go out and interact with other parents, other philosophies, and other children. And it makes for some damn good food for thought.
He doesn't eat meat, what does he eat?
Did you put him in time-out when he did that?
Does he sleep through the night?
No, he doesn't eat meat. He eats waffles, pancakes, eggs, toast with cc or pb, fruit, yogurt, any fruit, just about every vegetable, beans, rice, tofu, any soup, bread.......
Never gave him a timeout a day in my life. Does he get consequences, of course, natural and logical. You hit the baby, you can't play by her. You turn the light switch on and off over and over, I will have to sit with you far away from it, or hold you. You scream and cry because I take away a spray bottle full of a cleaning agent. I will get down on your level and talk to you about it name your feelings, and hold you close until the tears stop.
I find that more often than not when charlie is acting crazy and acting up it is because he is tired or hungry, or I am ignoring him to cook, clean, or blog and that he just needs some redirection and attention. AND. I. NEED. SLEEP. to be the parent I want to be.
I am grateful that the women I spend some time with who have children are all wonderful parents, gentle parents, dedicating this part of their life to their children.
I still sometimes feel the need to explain myself. I am not wishy-washy, I do not want my child to run around like a wild child doing whatever he pleases, but I do want my child to run around, explore, express, and find out for himself what hurts and what doesn't.
Am I ok with him hitting his best friend in the head twice with a nerf baseball bat, NEVER.
Back to women:
I miss you guys. I miss my sister to no end. And sometimes it almost feels easier to just shut them out a little for a while. Because conversations that really go into what I am doing/feeling are impossible. The baby will wake up, Charlie will pick up the baby, Charlie will want to eat (AGAIN, THIS KID EATS ALL DAY) and so conversations are so hard. Almost easier to wait until you come home. (KATE, last night with both kids asleep, baby in crib, glass of wine in hand, I adored talking to you for the first time in what felt like months. talking with no one around, no baby hanging off my breast, child off my leg) but the baby woke up after only 40 minutes in the crib, so those uninterrupted times are so few and far between).
So, I long for the day when amy comes back and we can crack open a bottle of white wine and just talk, when I can go away for a weekend with my constant companions and chat with my teaching friends, when my dear sister comes home and I can share my life with hers, even if for just a moment in time.
Because women...you make me who I am and what I am, and I love and miss you all dreadfully!
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