Oh family.
Jim woke up at the **crack** of dawn this morning. He starts out with a high-pitched yelp, somewhat from fear of darkness and somewhat to awaken the rest of the household. It's a bit of an exasperating stage of kindergarten---farting jokes and loud, spastic gestures for effect. Please calm down, little Jim.
The extreme cold broke this week, so I sent the big team outside at 7:30. There was a flurry of tree-climbing activity (Jim fell), and some ice-throwing. Then they settled into Team USA bob-sledding in the backyard. In their minds, it was all gold.
Parenting has been a challenge for me lately. The older kids are SO busy and loud. They hunger for more and more exercise, food, books, crafts, etc. They actually amuse themselves very well, but it's their overall energy level that keeps the house feeling frenetic. I'm weary and agitated. Just their arrival home from school, with all its noise and commotion, gives me a bit of a nervous tick.
Frank is not quite as loud as the team, but he's toddler-boisterous, anyway, and certainly monkeylike. I can not believe how much of the day he spends finding chairs and stools to push over to a counter for a boost in height. Now that I think of it, I suppose it would be rather frustrating to feel like all the good stuff has been put out of reach. I can't quite imagine it as an adult!
It is not all bad around here. I think the winter has left me in a cooped-up funk, but I don't want to paint the picture as so dismal. Being a mom to a team of elementary school kids is a proud and beautiful thing. Just this morning, I cleared the fridge of the fruits of kid labor: a special napkin sending phonetically-spelled love from Jim for Mom, a carefully drawn picture of the family in some kind of space war. We also have a crazy troll chia pet, some banana bread, and a Hello Kitty wallet claiming space on the counter.
If I were an outsider looking in, I would see so much love and energy in this house.
Thank you for these kids, my God. I forget to say it too often. Thank you for their love of brother and sister and mom and dad. Their love spills over and they can not stop it. They have so little hesitation in opening up their hearts again and again.
Time to rally the school train.
Jim woke up at the **crack** of dawn this morning. He starts out with a high-pitched yelp, somewhat from fear of darkness and somewhat to awaken the rest of the household. It's a bit of an exasperating stage of kindergarten---farting jokes and loud, spastic gestures for effect. Please calm down, little Jim.
The extreme cold broke this week, so I sent the big team outside at 7:30. There was a flurry of tree-climbing activity (Jim fell), and some ice-throwing. Then they settled into Team USA bob-sledding in the backyard. In their minds, it was all gold.
Parenting has been a challenge for me lately. The older kids are SO busy and loud. They hunger for more and more exercise, food, books, crafts, etc. They actually amuse themselves very well, but it's their overall energy level that keeps the house feeling frenetic. I'm weary and agitated. Just their arrival home from school, with all its noise and commotion, gives me a bit of a nervous tick.
Frank is not quite as loud as the team, but he's toddler-boisterous, anyway, and certainly monkeylike. I can not believe how much of the day he spends finding chairs and stools to push over to a counter for a boost in height. Now that I think of it, I suppose it would be rather frustrating to feel like all the good stuff has been put out of reach. I can't quite imagine it as an adult!
It is not all bad around here. I think the winter has left me in a cooped-up funk, but I don't want to paint the picture as so dismal. Being a mom to a team of elementary school kids is a proud and beautiful thing. Just this morning, I cleared the fridge of the fruits of kid labor: a special napkin sending phonetically-spelled love from Jim for Mom, a carefully drawn picture of the family in some kind of space war. We also have a crazy troll chia pet, some banana bread, and a Hello Kitty wallet claiming space on the counter.
If I were an outsider looking in, I would see so much love and energy in this house.
Thank you for these kids, my God. I forget to say it too often. Thank you for their love of brother and sister and mom and dad. Their love spills over and they can not stop it. They have so little hesitation in opening up their hearts again and again.
Time to rally the school train.
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