Lately some of Whitney's obsessions have been getting me down. I have to keep any and all printed papers behind a locked door or on top of my refrigerator if I don't want Whit to find it, tear it into pieces and then randomly eat some of the pieces. It makes me so frustrated. Whitney has torn up rolls of stamps, bills, countless books and even DVD cases. I'm one who's overly sensitive about keeping my stuff "nice." and it's extremely hard on my attitude because of Whitney's obsession with folding, tearing and chewing.But sometimes a little perspective really helps me see things for what they are. This past week I was reviewing old posts on this site for broken links and missing videos and ran across what I wrote on November first, over five years ago. It was Whitney's first mess and I was so proud. Whitney was two at the time. And she dragged herself across the floor to reach the VHS tapes and scattered them across the room. This was a big deal. Melanie and I practically had a party.
Now, at the age of seven, Whitney can walk and nearly run. She can reach any counter, tabletop or shelf in the house. And she does it with confidence. She has come so far. Sometimes this takes a toll on keeping my stuff neat. These circumstances can be seen in a positive light or a negative light. But a healthy dose of perspective helps the positive shine a lot brighter.
Now, has anyone seen this month's power bill? I swear it came in the mail just the other day...
4 comments:
Opps, sorry about the delete.
Ah yes, it is all about perspective. Gavin and I were trying to get some things done around the house when we walked into the living room. Zoe was frantically pulling and chewing on the drape and immediately stopped when we entered the room. She pushed herself away from the drape and gave us a guilty look. We ignored her for a minute so she would get back to what she was doing so we could decide if it was worth stopping her. We quickly saw why she looked so guilty. She was pulling and chewing on the drape (kind of like a cat) while laughing her head off. Gavin had just cleaned the drape the other day and had said "How did the drape get gunk all over it?" Well, mystery solved. But she was having such a good time, how could we stop her? We love the freedom she has in moving around in her walker and making choices in what she wants to do. So I just went back to cleaning up the kitchen and occasionally peeked in the living room to see my beautiful daughter laughing her head off while possibly staining or tearing the drape.
People have said to us that our house will be a mess now that we have a second child on the way. And I think "It will be a mess...it's a mess now!" You try keeping up with a curious 4 year old who knocks over, pulls and chews anything left in sight!
But aren't we lucky our kids can do so much?
Well said. I've got remember to when I'm cleaning up the latest mess, that we're fortunate Whit has the ability to make that mess. Next up is teaching her to have the ability to help clean it up. ;-)
Ah, yes, the mess. Five minutes after it's been picked up it's back. I feel I should somehow have had the energy to teach our guy what I know he's capable of learning--to pick up after himself.(He does it at school.)But he has a serious sleep disorder, so we've been tired for twenty years, plus I have chronic pain. So many things have slipped through the cracks. Anyway, he's leaving home soon, and I think he'll be learning some of the skills and habits we were too tired to teach him at home.
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