I’ve been through this stage four times before, but the imaginations of preschoolers still amaze me. My three-year-old pretends all day long. He pretends that he is making me a cup of coffee. I don’t drink coffee and the contents of the cup are a clear liquid that he’s gotten out of the spout of the water cooler. I play along. He directs me to blow on it to make sure it’s not too hot. I take a sip. He tells me to finish it.
He puts on his baseball cap, sunglasses and mitt and pretends he’s Chicago Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome. He pronounces it perfectly as he explains who he is. He pounds his fist into his mitt as if he’s expecting a darting ground ball to come soaring at him any second. He dives on the ground to tackle the invisible ball before it gets past him.
For some reason my empty Market Day boxes have become kitty carriers. He’ll grab one, scolding me for not being more careful. After all, his playful pet kittens are packed inside. He gently sets it down and picks it up, sure to keep it out of the path of his big brothers. Once in a while, he coaxes me into petting them and covering them up with a blanket.
It can get tiresome, but it’s so entertaining. And it’s one of those phases that I know won’t last a whole lot longer. Well, you’ll have to excuse me. I have a fresh cup of coffee waiting.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Dads are a blessing
Yesterday I went to meet a sweet, elderly man for an interview. He was one of those friendly, grandfatherly types who just make you smile. He shuffled to the table, his weathered hands shaking a bit. He beamed as he talked about his youth, the job he retired from and his hobbies. When the conversation moved to family, he told me he was widowed several years ago and that he had a son who was a successful business man. When I asked if he had any other children, the smile left his face and he looked down and paused. After a few seconds of silence, he said that he had another child that he never knew. He was married briefly before he wed his second wife, whom he was married to for 40+ years before her death.
The tone of the interview was upbeat one moment and turned sad the next. With a look of regret he explained how part of the divorce agreement was that she had custody. She took their son, moved out of town and ceased contact. Part of me wanted to jump on the Internet and start a search for his long lost son, but it wasn’t my place. I was just there to do a brief interview and heard more than I expected. He didn’t share anything further about the situation, but I just got the feeling that he realized he had missed out on a lot in not knowing his son. I’m sure that if his son suddenly appeared in front of him, he’d be ecstatic to meet him.
It got me to thinking about how fatherhood has changed since his generation was raising kids. In the 1940’s, it was probably a rare thing for a father to fight for and win custody. It wasn’t uncommon for fathers to drift in and out of lives or disappear for good of their own wishes or that of the mother. It still happens today that some parents somehow make the choice not be part of their child’s life, but parents who separate now have the legal means to continue to be part of their child’s life if they choose to be. I walked away from the interview feeling very fortunate to have had both a mother and father in my life and that my children have the same.
The tone of the interview was upbeat one moment and turned sad the next. With a look of regret he explained how part of the divorce agreement was that she had custody. She took their son, moved out of town and ceased contact. Part of me wanted to jump on the Internet and start a search for his long lost son, but it wasn’t my place. I was just there to do a brief interview and heard more than I expected. He didn’t share anything further about the situation, but I just got the feeling that he realized he had missed out on a lot in not knowing his son. I’m sure that if his son suddenly appeared in front of him, he’d be ecstatic to meet him.
It got me to thinking about how fatherhood has changed since his generation was raising kids. In the 1940’s, it was probably a rare thing for a father to fight for and win custody. It wasn’t uncommon for fathers to drift in and out of lives or disappear for good of their own wishes or that of the mother. It still happens today that some parents somehow make the choice not be part of their child’s life, but parents who separate now have the legal means to continue to be part of their child’s life if they choose to be. I walked away from the interview feeling very fortunate to have had both a mother and father in my life and that my children have the same.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Introduction
Hi. Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. Just a little introduction ~ I'm a mom of five loud, active, rowdy and destructive boys and one dog and am married to a career firefighter. I've been freelance writing for 8 years. I enjoy writing about people, places, events and also about my crazy life as a mom. When I hear the song "Livin' La Vida Loca" that Ricky Martin released a few years back about the crazy life of a woman making the rounds of the nightclubs, it makes me laugh. I think to myself...if that's considered crazy, stick her in a house with mounds of laundry, a sink full of dishes, a sick kid, a couple bickering boys who won't stop wrestling, dinner boiling over on the stove and SpongeBob's 4th continuous episode blaring on the television and she can see what crazy REALLY is! However, as nuts as it is at times, being a mom has got to be the most wonderful role on earth. I write about motherhood in my "Mom Moments" column that runs every other Sunday in the Northwest Indiana Times (check it out at nwitimes.com.) So, I'll plan on writing a little on this blog of the moments of motherhood that happen in between column deadlines. And since one of my favorite things to do is travel and write about it, I'll fill you on some cool spots you might want to visit on your next family trip. Hugs, Carrie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)