Here are some recent ones that come to mind:
"Why are you peeing on the floor right in front of the toilet?" (yeah, just happened tonight. and there's no stopping it once it starts.)
"Thank you so much for telling me you need to go poop in the potty during dinner!" (sincere.)
"Growling is for outside, not in the house." (cort and calvin make horribly loud and annoying growling noises, pretending to be who knows what animals, monsters, etc. it gets old fast.)
Then, there are the things you say that remind you of your own parent. *Gasp* Even though it's perfectly logical that we would use the same phrases that we heard growing up, we are somehow surprised and disgusted that we sound like our parents did.
I guarantee you, Joel and Jonathan, when you have children of your own (which better be in a million years), you will tell them to "make wise choices" and "live for the glory".
I tell Calvin "Don't be ugly". Even as I type it, I'm laughing, because he can't help how he looks. Of course, that phrase when I was a child was always in reference to having ugly behavior or an ugly attitude. That's not how it sounds, though. I probably say something to this effect to my 3-year-old every day.
When I lived in South Korea and taught, I got to teach with some awesome foreigners from all over the world. One day, we were in between classes and sitting at our desks (where the adorable Korean children constantly came to talk to us). One of the little girls was putting on quite a show. When she left, I looked at my co-worker, Ita, and said "She's such a ham!" Ita, who is from Ireland, gave me a funny look. Not too much time went by and I said to Ita, indicating another student "He's such a turkey!" This time, she said "Why do Americans refer to kids as odd animals or lunch meats?" Try explaining those expressions!
I think one of my favorite things about being a mom is watching the moms in my life with their grandchildren. I love listening to my mom sing songs to Calvin and Luke...some she sang to me when I was little and some she didn't. I love watching my mom-in-law play with my boys and joke around with them. I think it's beautiful, because it is relaxed and the agenda is fun, period. Our parents couldn't completely relax with us, because they had an important responsibility and a job to do, and thankfully, they took that seriously. Now they still want to point their grandchildren in the right direction, validate them and protect them, but they get to enjoy their time with them a bit more because the ultimate burden does not fall on their shoulders.
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| Nonny & Calvin were hunting sharks with balloons in their safari hats and nerd glasses. I hope I'm a fun grandma like Nonny someday. |
I wonder if, as parents, we intentionally took time to really just have fun with our kids, what difference-if any-it would make? If I took time to pretend and make-believe more often, would it teach Calvin that it's ok to have a big imagination? If I took time to make a really big mess with them, and not only refrain from saying anything about it, but not even allow myself to think about how long it might take to clean it up, would it teach them that time together is more important than keeping things clean and orderly? If I more often made spontaneous plans to go do something fun and different, as a treat, without feeling the need to thoroughly plan and prepare for every activity, would it teach them to live for the moment and to delight in the unexpected? If I didn't put pressure on myself to make the best and correct decision every single time when it came to my kids, would I be a better parent, free from the chains of perfection? I probably would be more relaxed, more pleasant to be around and healthier overall. We can't let grandparents have all the fun, right?
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