Sunday, May 8, 2016

Mother's day!

The events of the wekeend were around my mother-in-law, mother, and grandmother, but the three kindergarten classes of Tyler's school hosted a nice morning event for the kids' moms.

I've been taking time for myself this week, seeing films on my own and with others (not the kids), walking through an art show, and taking walks over the lunch break at work. As the kids get older, I remember more who I was before them, and who I still am, and could be. You can see the shift in Facebook posts from those celebrating their first mother's days to the mothers of teenagers.

What I note this weekend are the independent steps being made. The kids newly into card-making, and making enough so nobody feels left out (daddy got a card just-because). Tyler spends hours creating an intricate obstacle course. Ashley is more willing to solve a problem on her own rather than use her skills of verbal persuasion to have something done for her. Tyler is seeking to read more out in the world to figure things out - reading is not just something done in the classroom or at home, but something he looks to use to decipher the world. Ashley, as she was as a child, is very decisive in what she wants, and will hold out for it, turning down alternatives.

More on more, we can introduce the kids more to what we are interested in. I can pick out some songs on the piano with a kid next to me 'playing along,' and another drumming away. I can return with an art show catalogue and flip through it with the kids, sparking them to create something on their own. My husband can get them interested in Funko Pop toys, Voltron, and Godzilla.

The kids literally jump into new versions of themselves. Tyler cannonballs into a condo pool a couple dozen times, when before he had never jumped in. Ashley cruises around the perimeter of the pool.

The more time I spend with them, the more I see how they are like and yet unlike their parents. They are variations on the family theme, yet have the potential for their individual lights to shine.

Happy mother's day to me, thanks to these growing, growing kids.

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