Tracking November
Motherhood is one of those amazing journeys where you are entrusted with the responsibility of potential greatness and inevitable unpredictability. There are certain laws of motherhood that every mother tries to deny but eventually embraces in order to survive. One of these laws is the law of teething and it (so far) has been one of the most unpredictable. I think because teething is a lot like government, needed, but it sure does have a lot of crap, pain, and influence on those involved. And much like government, teething is ever changing.
My dear, sweet, and very patient daughter has had the teething blues on and off for a few months and nothing to show for it. How do I know its teething you might ask? Because her gums look like the choppy waves of the Atlantic, her demeanor changes like that of a full moon during a thunderstorm, and…well we won’t go into detail of the additional woes. All I can say is that the law of teething goes hand in hand with the law of vacation diaper ratio. I might calculate the number of diapers normally used per day and multiply that times the amount we will be traveling only then to be thrown a teething curve ball explosion; its always a generous explosion I might add, motherhood wouldn’t have it any other way.
But aside from teething and the lack of positive results, i.e. teeth! Sweet Aurora has not given up her determination to crawl faster, smile wider, or eat her way through amazing amounts of food every. single. day. She has also recently decided that two words are very important to her “Daddy!” and a few weeks later, in the pain of that teething monster, “Momma!” Be still my heart! And she meant it too! I am continually amazed by her ability to be patient with me as I am working, busying myself with chores, or wrangling her brother. Rory-girl has mastered patience before I have gotten there myself and that, my friends, is a law of motherhood worthy of a bit of excitement; knowing my sweet girl will be better than I because God has promised that children will not forget the way they should go if we as parents are determined to direct them there. *
“Direct them there…” sure. This should be fairly easy, right? No. I think all children are proof of this and my children are no exception. Ryder is quickly showing that he is turning into his own thinking machine. One that has an outstanding vocabulary (example: “mom, she is talking about the aquarium!” or “Yes, that’s percussion, but I’d like to play notes from the page, they jump too.”) and also one that is willing to test if his way is the best way, even if mom disapproves.
“I don’t like grapes.”
“Fine, then no gold fish crackers.”
“Hmmm…I like grapes.”
“Thought so.”
“I want to go to Grandma’s.”
“Great, not today. We have to work.”
“Oma’s?”
“No, she’s busy with school.”
“Chick-fil-a isn’t busy, we could go there…”
And thankfully there are those moments where I am reminded that the parental dedication, love, and patience (thanks Rory) pays off:
“Did that dog bite you?”
“No, Chester is a puppy and while he visits with us he has to listen like you do.”
“But he didn’t want to go outside?”
“Nope, so he showed by nipping my wrist. It’s like when you disobey sometimes.”
“Yeah, well, he should have done it anyways and said ‘yes ma’am’.”
“You got it buddy.”
“Thank you!”
Thankfulness is another law of motherhood and one I would always like to adhere to. The days when the diapers are always full, the naps are short, the TV has been on way too long, and then those glimmers of “ah-ha!” and “yes, thank-yous” appear like a beacon in the night. My heart swells with thankfulness as my son thanks us for letting him visit Grandma; for his Christmas tree that was erected in his living room; and for his “spaghetti, I love spaghetti! Thank you!”
*Proverbs 22:6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.