I hesitate, afraid to hear the news. “Yes.” What has he done now?
This is my second official visit to the school’s nurse’s office, my fourth injury report, and the second time I’ve signed a “know the signs of concussion” form.
Is it really only October? How am I going to make it through the school year at the rate we are going right now? What’s even worse is I have another boy starting school next year.
Look out for those Turner boys.
My six-year-old son explains simply that he must run or he will be caught. Apparently, the girls love to chase the boys, and if they catch them, hug them as much as possible.
Oh no — problems with girls and boys — yes, it’s already begun. And I thought I had a few more years to prepare.
Sitting still for an hour when you are six is nearly impossible. But you’ve got to remember, one hour in children’s time is like a whole year for the average person.
It’s basically impossible not to fidget, wiggle or develop violent headshaking syndrome. Let’s face it, kids have a lot of energy, and they are not afraid to show it.
As adults, we are often happy to have those few minutes to just sit still and do nothing. But for kids, it’s torture.
I’ve often heard people say, “Man, I wish I had their energy.” So that got me thinking, where does this energy come from?
Your kids wake up excited, full of joy and ready to go. So why do we feel like we have to have a mocha latte with a double shot of espresso just to keep up?
Because we don’t follow the same rules we set for our kids. We make them eat, sleep and play at specific set times, in ample amounts, every day. This is the perfect recipe for energy.
What’s funny is we spend a lot of our time and energy trying to think up creative ideas to entertain our children. But of all the people in the world, they are absolutely the easiest to keep occupied. It’s us who need the entertainment. We need the soccer game to cheer at, the outing to the park or pool, or the play date with other parents.
The older you get, the more it seems you enjoy stories from your parents and grandparents. What was it really like when they were a kid? What did they do for fun?
Childhood, when you are in it, seems like it will never end. But you turn around, look in the mirror, and your youth has suddenly vanished. You realize your parents aren’t so much older than you — as you used to think they were.
My kids laughed and told me just the other day, “No, you were never a kid, mommy.” Obviously, to them, I’ve always just been a mommy. There was nothing before, and nothing after.
Hopefully, with age, comes wisdom and truth. As I’ve grown up, family traditions and old ways of doing things have become more interesting to me. As I child, I would usually spend a week of the summer with my grandparents in Indiana. They had a large garden, and I used to love to go and pick berries and beans or corn with my grandfather in the early mornings.
Now, I don’t have a large garden, but I have become more interested in what my family is putting in their mouths lately.
