It's an art project in action.
Let's rewind a little bit. The child is tired. She had no nap today because daddy was out with her running loose errands all afternoon. This equals an adrenaline fueled kid. As patient as she is she still has her limits. Awwww, yes, of course, and she has no qualms about letting you know it, but all the same, "yes, you still have to remain in the carseat as prison-like as it may seem. Yes, I know it isn't fair. I know it isn't 'just', however it is your lot when tooling about around town". So at every stop she exclaims, "We're Here" only to realize it's only for 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there after which she has to return to that cage of a car seat! Poor baby. : ( A necessity for your own good. I'll be glad for the day that you can understand that. When she's this tired her crankyness comes in flares and jerks. It's like as if she's daydreaming and all of a sudden wakes to find herself back in this terrible horror of an experience: trapped in the car seat without her usual freedom to move about jumping, running, or pirouetting, as she loves to do and we have to talk about why it's necessary again and.....again....again....a.. You get the picture.
You cannot force a child to eat. That is pretty much common sense, however that doesn't mean that you haven't tried. Boy, is that an exercise in futility! At least with my child it is. She kind of gets off on it. At this point I let go of it like the hot potato of manipulation that it is. No child, we're not doing any 'table flipping' here. Thanks, but no thanks. Go ahead,....'fast' away. You know they have no knowledge of the story of Ghandi at this point and so you have to wonder why they are choosing the here and now to go on a hunger strike. After a little experience in this area you don't sweat it. You know this creature will not starve. Thankfully, biology will win out on this. You have seen it, and you are willing to wait for when the cells are demanding replenishment, for then there is no contest, and you will be there ready to supply the goods, good parent that you are. Also, when they are actually hungry they'll eat the food you have bought to Nourish Their Little Bodies (Whoa!), and no, 'cookies' is Not a food group. Let it be known. Go forth and spread the gospel. (You can't tell that I've been a little rattled about this can you? Nahhh. :) )
Let's rewind a little bit. The child is tired. She had no nap today because daddy was out with her running loose errands all afternoon. This equals an adrenaline fueled kid. As patient as she is she still has her limits. Awwww, yes, of course, and she has no qualms about letting you know it, but all the same, "yes, you still have to remain in the carseat as prison-like as it may seem. Yes, I know it isn't fair. I know it isn't 'just', however it is your lot when tooling about around town". So at every stop she exclaims, "We're Here" only to realize it's only for 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there after which she has to return to that cage of a car seat! Poor baby. : ( A necessity for your own good. I'll be glad for the day that you can understand that. When she's this tired her crankyness comes in flares and jerks. It's like as if she's daydreaming and all of a sudden wakes to find herself back in this terrible horror of an experience: trapped in the car seat without her usual freedom to move about jumping, running, or pirouetting, as she loves to do and we have to talk about why it's necessary again and.....again....again....a.. You get the picture.
You cannot force a child to eat. That is pretty much common sense, however that doesn't mean that you haven't tried. Boy, is that an exercise in futility! At least with my child it is. She kind of gets off on it. At this point I let go of it like the hot potato of manipulation that it is. No child, we're not doing any 'table flipping' here. Thanks, but no thanks. Go ahead,....'fast' away. You know they have no knowledge of the story of Ghandi at this point and so you have to wonder why they are choosing the here and now to go on a hunger strike. After a little experience in this area you don't sweat it. You know this creature will not starve. Thankfully, biology will win out on this. You have seen it, and you are willing to wait for when the cells are demanding replenishment, for then there is no contest, and you will be there ready to supply the goods, good parent that you are. Also, when they are actually hungry they'll eat the food you have bought to Nourish Their Little Bodies (Whoa!), and no, 'cookies' is Not a food group. Let it be known. Go forth and spread the gospel. (You can't tell that I've been a little rattled about this can you? Nahhh. :) )
So here we are at Arrandas with Mommy. Mommy is tired. She's had a long day with confrontational teenagers. It's part of her job and it takes a lot of energy. Hats off to you Momma! Yay Momma! Okay, so the whole fam has had a good day of it. In this climate of tiredness, you are willing to 'pick your battles' more carefully, as it were. We ordered good, tasty food for all of us. Shayla was not interested in her chicken flauta or the delicious rice and beans, or even her sour cream (which she likes), but instead focused on the corn chips and a single corn tortilla. Fine. Who were we to argue? She just played with and wore (yes, of course on her clothes) the rest of it. A hot washcloth was the only other thing we needed at that moment. :)
Dinner as follows:--
Mommy: Chicken Enchiladas
Daddy: Chicken Enchiladas
Shayla: corn chips and a corn tortilla
.............When we got home she asked for some yogurt, which we gave her. She ate 10%, and with the other 90% she used as a face and arm massage lotion.
That's okay, I'll be ready in the morning with a hot skillet hosting tasty vittles, and she'll be ready to eat.
Joan, what would we do without you?!? Hit the ground I suppose when we fall. .....You seem to be forever there with Grandma's safety net, ready and desiring to help. I sincerely hope you know what this means to me!!
I feel like I say "Thank You So Much" So Often that I feel kind of guilty, although that's not really the right word, for all the Help you so Selflessly Give!! At the end of the day, all I can really say is "Thank You" over and over and over again! I am so grateful for you!!!
This Grandma makes the world go 'round for her grandaughter Shayla and for her parents, Christina and I!! What did we do to deserve you?? My guess would be that it doesn't have Anything to Do with 'Deserving' and Everything to do with GRACE.
For lack of knowing what else to do, I can at least say "THANK YOU" Over and Over and Over Again.
Heaven holds a Special Place for Grandmas Like The One YOU ARE........
*THANK YOU*!!! :) :)
I feel like I say "Thank You So Much" So Often that I feel kind of guilty, although that's not really the right word, for all the Help you so Selflessly Give!! At the end of the day, all I can really say is "Thank You" over and over and over again! I am so grateful for you!!!
This Grandma makes the world go 'round for her grandaughter Shayla and for her parents, Christina and I!! What did we do to deserve you?? My guess would be that it doesn't have Anything to Do with 'Deserving' and Everything to do with GRACE.
For lack of knowing what else to do, I can at least say "THANK YOU" Over and Over and Over Again.
Heaven holds a Special Place for Grandmas Like The One YOU ARE........
*THANK YOU*!!! :) :)
Graviy never takes a break, does it? It's kind of unfortunate, but that's how we all learned about balance and coordination growing up.
My kid, like most of us growing up has a thirst for action that seems bottomless. We couldn't count all the 'near miss' accidents if we tried. They occur almost daily. As a parent you have that impulse to counteract as much of these accidents as possible, however some just slip by you because whatever you've said to your child we all know you don't 'have eyes in the back of your head'. Also, who wants to make their child live in a cardboard box just to keep them safe from the outside world? It's that fine line of protecting yet not hindering that takes an evolving skill of finese in order to caretake yet not be In The Way of your child's development.
Today Shayla wanted to practice some more on the neighbor's front yard rope swing. This a swing that is very low to the ground with a plastic base and made for kids like herself. "Don't let go whatever you do", I told her! She was good. She swung for a while while I gently pushed her. "Higher, higher", she said! Nope, I wasn't doing that. So we gently kept swinging until the round base slipped out from under her bottom, then she was surprised by that and let go. 'Konk', she hit the ground. (She fell about 10 inches.) Silence for about 3 seconds, then she started to cry--out of shock mostly. Then I picked her up and cuddled her and the cries abated in about 3 minutes or so. She hit feet first then collapsed onto her back until she bonked her head on the ground at the finish. I knew everything was alright when she said that she needed to do it again, presumably to 'get it right' this time. I quickly redirected to the lunch we were about to prepare, as I carried her inside consoling her. "Negative Ghostrider, once is enough for today", I thought to myself.
And so it goes: the protecting, the getting out of the way, and the applying of the salve of love for the wounds that sometimes occur external and internal... Hmmm. Fatherhood. You've got to love it....I do.
