Parenting in Awe
I am in awe of my 6-year old. Prima has always been a verbal child and able to express herself and ask questions about things she doesn't understand. At 2 1/2 we took her to Sea World. She spent the day in a state of silence just taking it all in. The next day, she couldn't stop talking about everything she saw the day before. Thus launched her interest in marine life. She learned everything she could about dolphins and could probably give a mini lecture to anyone who asked before the age of 3. This is just back drop to her history with the spoken word.
Fast forward to today and she uses her verbal skills to tell us how she is feeling and what she needs. I often feel like she is parenting me. Segunda necessarily needs quite a bit of attention in the form of carrying and sometimes just plain cajoling to get her to do stuff like hold still for a diaper change. When this happens, Prima quietly says to me, "Mommy, I'm feeling jealous and I need some attention." Literally, that's it. No temper tantrums. No shopping mall meltdowns. No throwing food in a restaurant. Simply "I need some attention." How do you not respond to that? Sometimes, sadly, I can't right in that moment because Segunda is shrieking the roof of where ever we are and needs immediate attention, but I do tell her "I understand how you are feeling and when we get home, I would like to sit on the couch and snuggle with you and watch a show. Would that be okay?" She gives me a nod and waits.
On the drive home, she will say, "Mommy, remember that you said we could snuggle and watch a show when we get home." I remember. At home, as we are setting our stuff down and getting settled, she says, "Mommy, remember that you said we could snuggle and watch a show when we get home." She isn't whining. She isn't petulant. She is just giving me quiet reminders so that she isn't forgotten.
Not a day goes by where I am not grateful to be her mother. Even the days when I'm ready for a straightjacket, I can't live without her. She is the love of my life and I tell her that often.
Fast forward to today and she uses her verbal skills to tell us how she is feeling and what she needs. I often feel like she is parenting me. Segunda necessarily needs quite a bit of attention in the form of carrying and sometimes just plain cajoling to get her to do stuff like hold still for a diaper change. When this happens, Prima quietly says to me, "Mommy, I'm feeling jealous and I need some attention." Literally, that's it. No temper tantrums. No shopping mall meltdowns. No throwing food in a restaurant. Simply "I need some attention." How do you not respond to that? Sometimes, sadly, I can't right in that moment because Segunda is shrieking the roof of where ever we are and needs immediate attention, but I do tell her "I understand how you are feeling and when we get home, I would like to sit on the couch and snuggle with you and watch a show. Would that be okay?" She gives me a nod and waits.
On the drive home, she will say, "Mommy, remember that you said we could snuggle and watch a show when we get home." I remember. At home, as we are setting our stuff down and getting settled, she says, "Mommy, remember that you said we could snuggle and watch a show when we get home." She isn't whining. She isn't petulant. She is just giving me quiet reminders so that she isn't forgotten.
Not a day goes by where I am not grateful to be her mother. Even the days when I'm ready for a straightjacket, I can't live without her. She is the love of my life and I tell her that often.
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