Playground

The world outside your front door can be an amazing place.  Amazing funny and rediculous.  We ventured out today to one of the nice playgrounds on one of the bases here.  This particular playground is one we frequent quite often when we're in the area and it's one of the most popular.  This is good for my oldest son who gets a variety of kids to play with, and it's nice for me because I get to "people-watch".   I've decided to take note on some of the people I watch while there, ya know, just for funsies. 

The first person to catch my eye was an extremely obese mom (maybe grandmother??) who had a midly scrawny child with her.  Now, don't get your undies in a wad; I do accept people of all sizes, colors, and yadda yadda.  My problem was that this particular mom happened to take up half the bench and was shoveling Burger King onion rings in her mouth to the point where her cheeks puffed out.  I'm not a fan of people who just sit and continue to destroy their bodies and show their children it's ok to follow suit.  I'll readily admit I still have some baby fat after 4 months of giving birth, which I'm ok with, but I manage to be able to run and play with my children and function well.  If nothing else, it's nice to be able to function, right?

Let's move along to stylish mama.  I had to keep from bursting out laughing at the "hot mama" who actually did wear a nice black top with tasteful white shorts.  It was a cute get up that could've been worn out to lunch with girlfriends or whatever, until you see that she was wearing those stupid looking toe shoes and a cream knit winter hat.  It was 82 degrees today and I had to double check my memory bank to make sure that it is May.  I guess you do what you have to do in the name of fashion.

On the swings a mother started arguing with her daughter, who looked about 8 years old, for like 20 minutes about wearing shoes on the playground.  Maybe I'm niave about parenting, but that whole argument I listened to seemed foolish.  I would assume that after 8 years of being around and learning about the most important person in your life (your child), you would know what tactics work to get the required results.  Every child is different, I understand, so maybe one child needs firm guidance while another just needs a quiet whisper in the ear to keep them on track, maybe explaining the rationale when you make a request, or any tactic in between.  It's hard to say what a kid needs, but you grow as a parent as the child grows and you really learn each other. 

Watching that incident made me recall the last time I was there playing on the swings with Gavin.  I little 5 year old girl came up and began to use the swing next to me.  She was there with her mother who stayed on her cell phone the whole time.  As we were swinging the little girl started to cry.  I'm not sure why, and her mother just continued pushing her higher and higher with one hand while carrying on her conversation with her mobile in the other hand.  From what I gathered, as the lady wasn't any good at keeping her conversation private, she was a German woman who was divorcing a military man and was telling her friend how she was planning to take all she could from him.  Lovely sentiment for your daughter to hear! 

Now, the funniest person of the day award goes to a little girl who absolutely stomped on the playground brat.  Bratty girl wanted to play superheroes, which was cool with the other girl, until Bratty wanted to be Wonder Woman.  The other girl started to quiz her on her knowledge of Wonder Woman and when she failed the quiz the title of Wonder Woman was usurped.  That girl started rattling off facts about the superhero and totally schooled Bratty who had to give up the the character.  I couldn't help but chuckle. 

The best part of the whole outing was watching Gavin play with all the other kids and really being a part of the group.  (I think starting him in the daycare program once a week has drastically improved his social skills.)  He got attached to one little boy his age and they climbed to the top of the slide tower, he looked out and pointed at me and said, "Look!  That's MY Mommy!".  I couldn't have been happier.  And I'm definitely looking forward to going to the playground next time.

Another year

So my little bugger is turning three tomorrow.  I'm going through the classic shell shock that every parent experiences.  Where's the time gone?  How have I molded him so far?  Is he becoming a strong person or am I making a mess of this parenthood thing?  I should quit wondering because I'll never know until it's too late.  Though I know better than to waste time worrying, I'm neurotic and obsessive, so I'll continue freely.  But, was I really ready for this?  Hell no.  Please add impulsive to the list of  "Jenn's character flaws".  I lept into having children because it felt right and good.  It seemed like the most magnificent thing to be able to do.  Boy, was I in for surprises of all sorts. 

I don't handle messes or loud noises well.  I hate having my hair pulled.  Don't rush me or boss me around.  Forget being too touchy-feely.  And, screw you modern day Nickelodeon--you take away Salute Your Shorts, you take away my loyalty. 

Yet, here I am in a routine of constantly cleaning up whatever that mysterious sticky substance was from the patio door and listening to squeals so high pitched it could make a dog want to cry in pain.  My hair gets ripped out in chunks just for funsies and I'm a human jungle gym.  Worst of all, I must bear these stupid new shows of Nickelodeon and participate in the songs.  (Well, maybe I don't hate it as much as I say.)

I get zero time to myself and even my shower time isn't a private affair.  If I have something in mind I'd like to buy for myself, I usually end up taking the allotted money and spending it on things for the kids.  And forget about having a date night with my husband!  I can't seem to allow myself to get a babysitter to go out for a movie due to the guilty feelings it invokes.  While it sounds all negative, it's not.  These things can be frustrating and exhausting at times and I won't be fake and pretend like it doesn't get under my skin sometimes.  But, overall, I enjoy feeling needed, and even better still, I feel wanted. 

Nobody can make you feel as good as your child can, I think.  You always look beautiful in your child's eyes even if you're a mess. They make all the mistakes ok because they're only interested in today.  (Wish I could take a lesson in that.)  So, when I look at them, I silently tell myself not to fuck this up because, really, they're all that matters.  I mean, who else is going to change MY diapers when I get old and zombie-esque?

I wish I could adequately express to my children how much they're loved and how thankful I am for them.  They should know how special they are and that they make others around them feel special, too.  Thank you, Gavin "Smiley" Riley, for keeping me on my toes with your unusually smart arguments, dance parties, and dino/snake battles.  Thank you for reminding me to have patience, to forgive and learn, as well as to use everything as a teaching tool. It's been 3 amazing years and many more to come. 

Now, I need to go build a pen for some plastic cows and horses.  Yeehaw!




"I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw
I'm in the prime of my life..."
-MGMT, Time to Pretend