they're cuttin' down trees, puttin' up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace...
ahh, Joni Mitchell, it's already 45 degrees outside right now. The first freeze is eminent. Summer is officially over and I am incredibly melancholy. Yesterday I sluffed church. It wasn't premeditated or anything like that, I was already late and I started to pick up the kids' junk that was snaking down the hall and the next thing I knew I was knee-deep in a 4-garbage-bag de-junking. It was so serious an affair that I actually got rid of the toy box. Suz and Miner came and hauled it off to their place tonight, in fact. Good luck with the largest hider of garbage ever created.
The kids think that we've purchased all new toys for them. Not true, we just haven't used these particular items in over a year, which was the last time I ever let them open up the toy box.
I also cleaned out the kids drawers. All summer they have been wearing clothes that no longer fit, but I justify their continual usage because they are currently clean. I filled an entire 15- gallon Rubbermaid tub. It wasn't until I pushed it into the catacombs of the basement that I paused to wipe back a tear through a ragged sigh.
Time marches on.
Oh, I wish I had a river that I could sail away on....
There are certain clothing items that invoke a visceral attachment. Something you ache to hold on to for an indeterminate length of time. Not just the clothing, of course, but also the small child within them. The end of summer means that those clothes have been outgrown, finished their purpose, and now a new phase begins--one where they are older, more independent, less childlike.
It's a double-edged sword.
Lachlan is working through the difficult time of getting rid of her blankets. It's not really the blankets that we object to, but rather that she sucks on the edge of them. It's become a pacifier and it's time for her to break the habit. To say that last night was rough, is an understatement. She told Jeff tonight, "Dad, it's hard to go without my blankets. I get scared of the dark in here and I don't like all the monsters." We gave her a teddy bear to snuggle, but it is going to take some time.
So much of parenting is just a complete guessing game. You don't have a clue what you are doing. I've found that about 3/4 of the time I'm spewing off rules and regulations and I don't even know if we really need them. And the remainder of the time we probably ought to have some frame of function, but I am so mentally, emotionally and physically spent that I couldn't care less if they are robbing the 7-Eleven!
Do you ever wonder how different things will be when the spring comes?
Am I ready to just get rid of the baby clothes? And what the hell am I saving them for anyway?
I don't want to go back, but I'm not really sure if I want everyone to move forward.
Oh, summer, just a few more days. Make it last a little longer.
5 comments:
Oh,Rose, I feel your pain. I hate the year of 2 to 3. They lose the baby-ness. At 2, still a baby. At 3, no more dimples on the backs of their hands. It's terrible. I struggle with Kiki- she needs potty trained, she has blanket issues of her own, and etc, but a part of me is so unmotivated to change any of that because those things make her "little" still.
What a beautiful post, Rose.
i loved that post. i feel so many of those same emotions. sort of makes me want to bawl.
Rose, good luck with the blankets. Riley chews on hers when she sleeps, too. She threw all her blankies away when she turned three and there was a big ceremony...only then she started sucking on her sheets every night. I found it much more difficult to remove and wash sheets, so I gave in and found another blanket. She is almost six. Does it really matter, though? No one knows. She doesnt do it in public. I figure she may suck on the blanket until she graduates. Besides the bad breath, I really don't see many negative consequences as of now. :) Let me know if you succeed.
So well written. Love this post!
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