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| these boys in their "boats." |
i'm not going to lie: there are days when i go to bed defeated and exhausted. there are days when i feel like there is no way i am possibly up to being the mom of these two boys, and also a wife and a professional and a friend and whatever else i am. those days are rough.
today, though - today is NOT one of those days.
these boys rocked my world today, and i couldn't be more grateful. daddy's at a football game tonight, so i've been "single parenting" (in big ol' fat quotes because i can't pretend to know even a piece of what that's really like).
this is not a coherently themed blog post. it's just a collection of stories of ways my children amazed me today.
#1: light is beautiful.
after charlie and i dropped john off at school this morning, we were cruising the additional mile or two up the road to charlie's school. we were talking about his friends, and the stuffed dog he was holding.
and suddenly, he says in a dumbfounded voice, "mommy! light is BEAUTIFUL!"
and i looked to the east, and there was a gorgeous bright sunrise. and a huge arch of a cloud sweeping across the expanse of the sky, reflecting gold.
charlie was spot on: the light was beautiful.
and if my two year old hadn't pointed it out, i might've kept my traffic/stoplight/life blinders on and not ever glanced to my left.
thanks, charlie.
#2: good days, report cards, and more
john had a great day at school today - another day with just a star on his calendar, and no mention of rules broken or behavior reminders needed. in fact, when his teacher helped him into the car at pickup, she said, "another great day! i think this might just be the way things are now!"
i am sure they won't ALL be good days. but this is 10 (count 'em) in a row, and we're going to go ahead and celebrate that.
more to celebrate: it was report card day. and john's was way better than i expected. they don't do grades, of course, in kindergarten - just checks for skills used independently, and asterisks for "emerging skills." and he got almost all checks. and several of the asterisks will already start being better as his use of his hand improves, as they are writing and writing-related things.
but the report card wasn't the best part. the best part was the note from his teacher that brought me to tears. a note to john. that said that his smile makes her day, and that she's so proud of him for working hard to learn and to follow the school rules. that she is glad that they are together in kindergarten.
and i know she wrote a similar type of note for every child, because she's a great teacher and loves her kids. but damn. i might just frame that note.
#3: celebration time
after we picked charlie up from school, we decided to go to chick fil a for dinner and to play on their playplace. the boys had a blast. they played well with others, came out of the play area when they were overwhelmed (there were some big, loud, brash kids in there for a while that might've overwhelmed even me).
and charlie got brave, climbing the stairs to the slide with the big kids, exploring the car elevated in the air, and crawling happily through the tubes.
but then charlie tumbled in the tubes and banged his lip. he was bleeding. not a lot, but he was crying.
and a little girl they were playing with came to tell me charlie was crying. but before i could get into the door, john was up the stairs to help his brother. he found him, he held him and helped him stop crying, he wiped the little bit off blood of his face. and then he held him in his lap and they came down the slide together, john's arms wrapped protectively around his baby brother.
in that moment, they were both at their best. brave charlie, trying new things and dealing with the licks he took. hero john, compassionately looking out for his baby brother. both of them handling what was to them a challenging situation, with aplomb and love for each other.
these boys. i am so grateful for these boys.
i am sure they won't ALL be good days. but this is 10 (count 'em) in a row, and we're going to go ahead and celebrate that.
more to celebrate: it was report card day. and john's was way better than i expected. they don't do grades, of course, in kindergarten - just checks for skills used independently, and asterisks for "emerging skills." and he got almost all checks. and several of the asterisks will already start being better as his use of his hand improves, as they are writing and writing-related things.
but the report card wasn't the best part. the best part was the note from his teacher that brought me to tears. a note to john. that said that his smile makes her day, and that she's so proud of him for working hard to learn and to follow the school rules. that she is glad that they are together in kindergarten.
and i know she wrote a similar type of note for every child, because she's a great teacher and loves her kids. but damn. i might just frame that note.
#3: celebration time
after we picked charlie up from school, we decided to go to chick fil a for dinner and to play on their playplace. the boys had a blast. they played well with others, came out of the play area when they were overwhelmed (there were some big, loud, brash kids in there for a while that might've overwhelmed even me).
and charlie got brave, climbing the stairs to the slide with the big kids, exploring the car elevated in the air, and crawling happily through the tubes.
but then charlie tumbled in the tubes and banged his lip. he was bleeding. not a lot, but he was crying.
and a little girl they were playing with came to tell me charlie was crying. but before i could get into the door, john was up the stairs to help his brother. he found him, he held him and helped him stop crying, he wiped the little bit off blood of his face. and then he held him in his lap and they came down the slide together, john's arms wrapped protectively around his baby brother.
in that moment, they were both at their best. brave charlie, trying new things and dealing with the licks he took. hero john, compassionately looking out for his baby brother. both of them handling what was to them a challenging situation, with aplomb and love for each other.
these boys. i am so grateful for these boys.
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