It's The Little Things

I am overjoyed to be the mother of two terrific boys.  As much as I love them and adore them, I can't help but think their sole purpose in life is to entertain me.  I know I can sit back and observe my children and within a short amount of time one of them will do something that will make me chuckle.  At 10 years old and 19 months old Dominick and Simon definitely provide moments of frustration, anxiety and despair but overall I can say we are generally kept entertained by their antics.  This thought is very present in my mind today because over the course of 12 hours two little things, little acts performed by my children created a sense of pride and a "Hey mom, you are not doing that bad of a job after all" feeling in me that I will hold on to forever.  In sequential order, the two moments are detailed below

1) Simon - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 19
            I come home from work around 6:00 and Simon is running a fever.  I give him some Advil and he starts to cool down and show some signs of activity.  I finish up dinner and put him in his highchair but I can tell he really has no interest in eating. Normally I would coax him a little and "battle" with him until he eats some portion of his dinner but knowing that he doesn't feel great I let it go.  After dinner is done and I am cleaing the kitchen Simon starts to fuss, Nick gives him some fruit snacks.  Nick opens the pack of fruit snacks hands them to Simon, who has already made his way up onto the dining room chair to eat his snacks at the table.  Fruit snacks are Simon's favorite!  I watch Simon carefully dump out his fruit snacks onto the placemat which he has moved in front of him.  OK, I think, easier for him to access them, makes sense.  And then I watch him do something that most men, let alone 19 month olds don't do on a regular basis.  Simon stops eating his snacks, scoots himself off of the chair, grabs his empty snack pack, walks over to the kitchen garbage, opens the lid, drops the pack in, walks back over to his chair, climbs back up and starts eating again without skipping a beat.  For whatever reason that sequence of events amazed me!  I should know now not to be surprised at anything Simon does but I think it is our jobs as parents to be continuously impressed with these little minds that God created.

2) Dominick - 6:45 a.m., Wednesday, October 20th
      Morning routines are crucial and staying on schedule is a must.  We have our routine down pretty well, I get the boys up, Dominick gets dressed while I make breakfast.  After breakfast Dominick takes his dishes into the kitchen and sets them on the counter. He then feeds the dog, gets his backpack ready, brushes his teeth, does his hair and then he's done.  During this time I am usually helping the baby eat, getting him dressed, putting stuff in the car, cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast.  Dominick stays on track for the most part and never takes on anything additional unless I ask him specifically which I try not to because we are working with a short amount of time as it is.  This morning was different, I am not sure why, maybe at 10 he is maturing, maybe he is seeing me do a lot of the work that he thought he should help out as well.  Whatever the reason or motivation I didn't question it.  I am preparing Simon's diaper bag for daycare, Simon is still in his highchair and Dominick just carried his dishes into the kitchen.  The butter and knife are still on the counter from the english muffins I prepared.  I watch as Dominick picks up the tub of butter, puts the lid on, puts it inside the refrigerator and puts the knife in the sink.  He then walks back to the dining room table and pushes in the chairs and goes about the rest of his routine. Again, I stand amazed at my child. Not because what he had done was so extraordinary or difficult but just because of the mere fact that he did it, without being asked and without a need for recognition.

I will, in some part, take credit for the habits my children are developing.  We like order, routine and tidyness in our home and I am glad my boys are picking up those traits.  I do know, however, that my boys have the opportunity and the will to defy everything I do or say so I am incredibly happy that things I find important are important to them as well.