When I wonder what it’s all about, why I am where I am, and whether all my decisions or in/out-of-control direction changes in life were good ones, I usually need to drink lots of red wine and stay away from the hard liquor! When my 6, soon to be 7, year old daughter tells me to take a break from cooking dinner and see what she made and affixed to my home office desk (photo to left), everything makes sense for a few moments.
I tell her that I need to save all these precious notes and drawings she makes me because when she’s a teenager she’ll want nothing to do with me. She denies it adamantly and tells me she will always love me. I tell her I know that’s true but she might not express it the same way as she does now, but I will always love her which thankfully she believes. I doubt she’ll be writing me the same heart warming notes and drawing me butterflies when she’s 16, but the fact that she thinks she will is sweet. Although I’m sure her peers and society might think it weird if she’s drawing hearts to her friends and mom when she’s older, I hope she continues to be comfortable expressing her love for people because it’s not an easy thing to do without judgement when you get older.
I don’t recall my now 9 year old son writing too many “I love mommy” notes when he was 6, but I do have a few of those that I’ve saved and stuck to the fridge or put in his box. He mostly wants to play with my iPhone and the Wii runs into me to show his affection and randomly hugs me sometimes in odd places like Office Depot. He still likes me to sit next to him when he’s watching TV and cuddle with him for a bit before he goes to sleep. When I ask him why he is hugging me in a superstore, he says “I don’t know, I just wanted to.” I sigh, laugh, roll my eyes a bit and say “Ok sweetie, I’ll take it when and where I can get it,” hug him back and muss his hair.
I’m so lucky when it comes to my kids (knock on wood) and I guess I am where I need to be right now for them. If I’m penniless in my 80s, I’ll show them the notes and see if they remember writing them and the feelings they were trying to express at the time. Deep stuff, I know.
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: parent stories,
parenting,
working mom,
working mother |
Tags: i love mommy,
iPhone,
office depot,
Wii |
11 Comments »
I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. I certainly spent a lot of time reminiscing about old memories with long time friends while the kids played during the day and into the wee hours of the morning when the kids were asleep. We created new memories with old and new friends. My kids had fun playing, swimming, playing games on the iPhone and Wii, eating hot dogs, seeing Kung Fu Panda 2, etc.
It’s great to have old friends to ground you and remind you of who you were back then and talk about how we have all changed and/or stayed the same. It’s good to have new friends who know you now (i.e., after kids). New friends open you up to new and different experiences because they don’t know who you are supposed to be, and they don’t let your old self hold back your new self. Under their influence you may be able to see and experience things you never have before.
But Memorial Day weekend is about remembering those Americans who died for our freedom. So, thank you to those who serve, who have served, and whose families support them while they continue to protect us so people like me can hang out with our friends during this long weekend. I’m ever so grateful that I live in the United States and have had the opportunities that I have had, including the ability to express myself on this here blog.
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: blogging,
national holiday |
Tags: iPhone,
memorial day,
swimming,
Wii |
3 Comments »
Today I spent most of the day just getting rid of stuff. Shipping clothes to relatives with younger kids, giving toys and other sundries to Goodwill, and moving things around. I took bags of stuff to Goodwill. I have boxes of stuff to take to the kids’ school. I threw bags of (ugh) plastic little useless toys away that can’t be recycled, and I dread the thought of them being in a landfill like in Toy Story 3, but it had to be done. The house feels lighter. I feel lighter. The kids were about 25% helpful but mostly got caught up playing with toys they didn’t want to get rid of. They were good helpers when I gave them instructions and didn’t argue too much when I told them to throw certain things away or put something in a certain pile, but they would find excuses to play hide and seek, scream and laugh up a storm, work on puzzles, try to play the iPhone, etc. which made me frustrated but smile at the same time. I’m so glad they get along so well. I know the day is coming when they won’t get along so I’m savoring it now. I was too exhausted to cook anything for dinner after a busy day of cleaning so we went to Kerbey Lane Cafe for dinner and the waitress even commented on how well they got along. [I’m knocking on wood right now!] My son even encouraged my daughter to play Mario Kart (that he got for Christmas from Grandma) on the Wii with him and made sure she was making enough progress to keep her interested in continuing to play with him. He’s smart like that…anything to play the Wii! She’s not much into playing video games but there are a few sports games and things like Mario Kart she likes.
I like an organized house and my house hasn’t been as organized as I’d like in the past couple of years, but I just decided I had to give in to the “lived in” look and the chaos of two kids for my sanity. Some things are just not worth getting that upset about (i.e., clothes/jackets hanging on chairs/sofas, toys in various places in the house, etc.). As long as I’m not tripping on something, it’s all good and the kids are pretty good about keeping things out of the way. My daughter seems to enjoy helping me or being next to me most of the time, but my son would rather play the Wii or the iPhone and it’s hit or miss on his attitude about taking his socks he left on the floor to his dirty clothes bin. But if it’s night time, then mom has to be close by so he can go to sleep!
I still have the garage, my office, my bathroom, and the kitchen drawers to get through. Sigh!
Zhu Zhu pet
It’s good to get rid of stuff, baggage, old ways of doing things even in an entrepreneurial endeavor. If you don’t get rid of the old ways of thinking and doing things, you can’t make room for the new and I’ve seen many a start-up fail because they get stuck in the ‘well, it’s always been like this‘ attitude and they don’t take time to make room for some fresh thinking and of course new gadgets. Who couldn’t use a room full of new Zhu Zhu or Kung Zhu pets and their paraphernalia to get the entrepreneurial juices flowing! 😀
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: entrepreneurship,
parenting |
Tags: cleaning house,
Goodwill,
kung zhu pets,
Mario Kart,
toy story 3,
Wii,
zhu zhu pets |
4 Comments »
When I wonder what it’s all about, why I am where I am, and whether all my decisions or in/out-of-control direction changes in life were good ones, I usually need to drink lots of red wine and stay away from the hard liquor! When my 6, soon to be 7, year old daughter tells me to take a break from cooking dinner and see what she made and affixed to my home office desk (photo to left), everything makes sense for a few moments.
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