what if you don't say no...
What will happen if I don't yell like a maniac, if I don't say no as fast as I possibly can? Okay, most of you know I'm not very good at yelling like a maniac, but I do have a pretty serious "NO" voice. And so this is a question I frequently ask myself. Sometimes I have to force myself to ask, like today, right after I pulled my new sewing machine out of the box and big eyes were followed by little fingers. Joey sat down in the chair I'd just positioned in front of it, visions of skirts dancing in my head. I waited- it is a pretty fascinating piece of equipment after all. Soon knights and dragons joined him. Whispers fell from his lips. After a few minutes, he looked over at me sheepishly. My smile seemed to give him the go-ahead to turn the volume up. "So, the prince put the princess in the dungeon (the handle of the sewing machine) and that turned her into a damsel in distress. She was mad about that so she called in his dragon to rescue her..." and so forth. Not once did he touch anything which caused me to cry out stop- but later, he and Isaiah both let me know they would like to learn how to sew. To see and touch, to pretend and work, these are gifts.
posted by Jen @ 8:53 PM
3 Comments:
ah the joy of children exploring...I too, often wonder what the difference is - except that I go the screaming maniac route more than I care to admit. It is amazing to watch the wonderment over new imagined worlds, makes me realize that everyday is a brave new world for my little ones and that each dawn brings fresh opportunity. New teeth to learn to chew, new bugs to touch and sniff, new cooking to smell and taste and figure out how best to spit across the counter... :) It is good to be reminded of these experiences and remember to slow down the "no!" and that sometimes the wait and see is far better for everyone. miss you - peace a
I've noticed when I do stop to watch instead of jumping in to defend and guard, I recall memories from my childhood. I remember how exciting it was to explore and if my mom or dad had shouted out NO and STOP through it all that memory would not be so sweet.
aaah, the guilt of saying no. I have to agree that it weighs on my mind as a lay in bed at night wondering if I did the best I could at being a mom for the day. lucky for me, there is not much time to lay in bed these days, so the guilt doesn't come as often. we love you all and keep you close in our thoughts daily.
cole and crew
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