Friday, November 11, 2011
Disgusted
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thumbs down
I can remember the day at 5 months old - look, how cute - she found her thumb! I even have a picture...
Thursday, September 8, 2011
“They flew the planes into buildings”
There is no easy way to tell your children about 9/11. Especially our girls who we have sheltered from so many things – even PG movies! But with the 10 year anniversary of the September 11 attacks coming up, I felt like I had no choice. The news is teeming with retrospectives, information on memorials and “remembrances.” One of our favorite local
events, a hot air balloon race, is even having a special ceremony on Sunday, the day we are going.
I don’t want the girls to learn about what happened from someone else. We should, as parents, be the ones to teach and comfort, especially about something like this.
But I’ve realized in telling the girls about 9/11, that I, a 41 year old woman, can’t even handle what happened. I have done my best to block out the horrific images of the plane ripping through the second tower, the buildings crumbling, the pentagon burning.
So to have to explain that terrorists took over four planes and flew them into buildings was gut wrenching.
“what are terrorists mommy?”
“People who don’t want us to feel safe, who are upset at some things our country does”
“did all the people on the planes die?”
“yes”
And to realize there was no way I could tell them about all the people in the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon who died, or that the towers crumbled. Or about the oh so brave people who brought the fourth plane down before more lives would be lost. How to find the words?
Instead we talked about feeling proud of our country, feeling empathy for what happened to all of those people (“it makes me want to cry, mommy”). We talked about how safe things are now – all the things we do before we get on a plane to make it safe. How this can never happen again.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Thoughts of the past few months...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
To sleep, perchance to dream....
Monday, January 17, 2011
Dream Coming True
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tears on Christmas
As an only child with 3 girls, I often ruminate on the sibling experience. What fascinates me is how siblings, even twins, growing up in the same family, same parents, vacations, schools, etc., can have wildly different memories and feelings about experiences in their childhoods. This can occur even when parents try to keep things even or fair.
And then you can just blatantly give your children different experiences to really rock their world, right? Here is the back story:
My husband and I spent a lot of time thinking about what Santa should bring the girls. Well, to be fair, we spent a lot of time thinking about what Santa should bring LittleBug. LadyBug very clearly stated that she wanted another dolly, even though she had dollies, because she loved dollies. QueenBee just kept repeating, more books, more books, more books. LittleBug didn't ever say what she wanted. She would pick out things here and there, in catalogues or at a store, but nothing seemed to stick. We didn't want to just buy her some crap toy that never gets played with. Then we had it - knee-high dark brown leather boots! Nice boots (nicer than mine, to be honest) that she could wear every day. This is our child whose favorite colors are black, brown and purple. Pink is just not her thing.
So we are all set - spent the same amount of $ on each. Fast forward to Christmas Eve. We open all the presents from relatives and friends on Christmas Eve. Take about toy-poluzza! Fun, fun, fun! Later, after the girls are sleeping, we get out the Santa present. As we look at the gifts: a box of 8 books, a new doll with a wardrobe & clothes, and the brown boots, I made the crack - so, which child do we love the most? Even though the gifts all cost the same, the brown boots were not looking so keen next to the wardrobe and doll. Hmmm.....and now I realize something else. As much as she will love the boots, you can't play with them. Hmmm.....
So Christmas morning, there is lots of excitement and fun with the stockings and then it is time to open Santa's presents. QueenBee is totally content with her books. LadyBug is over the moon with her doll and clothes, etc. And LittleBug, who clearly likes the boots, starts looking around, "Is there more?" Not in a snotty, I want more toys way, but in a genuinely puzzled way. Oh dear...
Then it is time for presents from each other. And I start to realize that there are no toys from us - I tend to buy clothes or other things since they get toys on Christmas Eve and from...um...Santa. Oops.
Seeming to sense LittleBug's mood, her sisters say, "Open the present from us!" She does, and to her delight it is a toy - a cute remote control doggy! That doesn't work. I kid you not, 4 adults and many batteries later, we pronounced it DOA. LittleBug doesn't whine or throw a fit, but she sits there, sucking her thumb, holding blankie, with big tears rolling down her cheeks. Heartbreaking.
So, the next day Daddy took her with her Christmas money to the toy store where, after getting a dog that works, she managed to get some things to play with. And seemed happy. Until when tucking her in and commenting about our nice Christmas weekend, she said, "Don't you remember Mom, I had a bad Christmas?"
P.S. She has worn the new boots everyday.