“Let’s go!”
“Get in the car.” “Get out of the
car.” “Hurry up!” I could record these phrases and play them on
an endless loop almost daily. I have a toddler
whom I have affectionately nicknamed Molasses Man. When planning departure time, I would be
remiss if I didn't add in at least
ten minutes for him to get from the family room to his car seat, (a space of
approximately 30 feet.) He is distracted
by any and every little thing.
Over
the past year I found myself biting my lip in frustration in attempts to get
him where we need to be. Why can’t he
move faster? Why doesn't he understand
the urgency? Why is looking at an ant so important at 7:15 in the morning when
I have a staff meeting at 7:45? Another phrase
I frequent: “I know you don’t understand time, but we have to go. Now.”
This
week, I got it. Three and a half years
is not a long time to be on this earth.
It is not long enough to accumulate a vast knowledge base or wide range
of experiences. At 3 ½, so much is new
and exciting – and none of it involves the clock.
I’m
pretty sure I had this revelation two years ago, when my oldest was 3, but, if
you are a parent of more than one child, you bury some things deep away in the
parenting file of your brain.
But I
am learning a valuable lesson, too.
Maybe I should be taking more time to notice the little things. Maybe I don’t need to be in such a rush to
get from point A to point B. Maybe there’s
a lot I am missing out on.
So, when we
are supposed to be going to the grocery store and we decide to look at the
ducks…
or we are supposed to be going home and we want to
check out a
cool fish fountain…
or we are supposed to be leaving to pick up your
brother from camp and you want to see how high you can spray the hose…
I should give you those few minutes to experience
and explore. And I should take a few
minutes to enjoy it as well.
So, so true. I remember a friend of mine realizing that she was even telling her kids to "hurry up and brush your teeth." Not everything needs to be rushed! But having said that, it is nice when they can hustle when you *really* need them too. I always complimented the kids when they were able to get in the car without me pulling my hair out. Using a simple stock phrase (mine is "Way to go, Team Tandon!") helps remind all of us that 'we're all in this together.' Good luck! Those toddler years ain't easy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support Nancy! I love the idea of a team name :)
ReplyDeleteLove this, Jess. True and apt. I also *try* to slow down to kiddo-speed. Aren't we blessed to have the summer to practice being slow? Maybe we'll remember some of that "wonder" when school starts up again... :-) Thanks for your blog. I'm about to share it.
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