Day 11 – MC
If I had to give a title to the events for today it would
be, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The Good. Ro rolled from his tummy to his back today! Not
once or twice but every time I put him on his tummy. His head propped up and
resting on his elbows and tummy, he looks around and laughs and then as he’s
getting tired he pushes his right hand, almost like a jerk and flips onto his
back. And then of course his big round eyes get bigger and rounder and he
starts looking all around him at the new view. Hah! What a wonderful sight to see. He's growing up so fast. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s right
handed but time will tell for sure.
The Bad. Well, it wasn’t really bad. It was just one of
those moments where I really felt for my daughter. Bad only because I couldn’t
really say or do anything that I think would give her real solace. Ellil had been
acting out all evening, especially after her swimming class. While I was
getting her ready for bed, almost at my wits end, she looked directly into my
eyes and flat out told me that she misses Appa and asked why it was taking him
so long to return. I went quiet for a moment. I didn't really know what to say but I had to respond
because she wasn’t asking a rhetorical question. I hugged her and told her she
should tell Appa that she misses him on the phone tomorrow, and that he’ll be
back by next week and she can spend loads of time with him once he is back. She
nodded her head and then I carried her to bed.
Don’t get me wrong. It was not a very melodramatic moment
and Ellil was super tired, as she typically is on swimming nights. And 3 year
olds go from extreme happiness to sadness to anger to elation to defiance to
acquiescence all within 30 seconds. I am actually very happy that she articulated
her feelings. I think kids need to learn that from a young age, otherwise they
will find their teenage and adult years to be extremely tough. If they are
encouraged to introspect about their behaviour and ask themselves consciously
why they feel what they feel, the practice becomes habit forming and
effectively becomes a type of self-therapy.
I do ask her when she is acting out, ‘why are you acting
this way, it isn’t like you to do this’ or ‘what is going on that is making you
do this’ or if I suspect it might be something in particular, I do flat out ask
her if that particular event/person or thing is the cause. So this time I think
she connected the dots all by herself.
The Ugly. I think I know what my April challenge will be. A
weight loss challenge. I haven’t been to the gym one single day and my diet has
been sub-par at best. I refuse to buy fat clothes but I don’t fit into my
regular clothes well at all. What’s a girl to do? Argh...
When reading your post and I got to the part about kids articulating their feelings.... YOU ARE SO RIGHT.... I have big issues with Seth who is a very emotional boy who goes from happy to angry and crying in 2 seconds. He does not talk about his feelings regardless of how much we try to get him to talk. If you can work with your kids from a very young age about talking about how they fell and figure out why they feel the way that they do.... It will do wonders when they get older. There is nothing more frustrating as a parent to see your child have a melt down because you said something that they did not like (but you know it's not a huge deal and that they should not be acting that way). To also having your child not talk to you about it and give you the cold shoulder. You can't force them to talk to you, but you just hope that in time he will open up and learn to talk about his feelings.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you are already thinking about what your next challenge will be. I know what you mean about not fitting in your clothes. Since I have started this new job I have watched my clothes that used to be big on me now fit snug. I feel hungry all the time and i really try and watch what I eat, but not as much as I should. I also know that I should exercise, but since that is something that I haven't done since what high school, it's hard to do it. Maybe when the weather gets better and I can get outside and walk or something, and if I can kept it up all summer then it will be a habit that I will have to try and keep during the winter. Good luck... I know you can do it.
Perhaps look at doing some excecises that can be done at home without the need to go to the gym. Sometimes if you devise a plan that can be done at home, then you may be willing to do it when the kids are sleeping and there is no need to drive somewhere... just a thought. Most of the exercises that Steve had for me where core related and didn't require any machinery. you can also purchase such things are those balls that are weighted.... OH!!!! if you have a Wii you can buy the Zumba fitness game. I have it and it's tons of fun... you exercise while you dance. well sometimes you just have to figure out how to make it work in your schedule and perhaps you just need to do something at home and not outside at a gym.
Well that's my 2 cents. My boss is about to come in to the office so I should go and look busy.