It's Not Easy Being Two

My last post is not entirely fair to Andy, although it certainly expresses my own frustrations in parenting a soon to be two year old.

In fairness, Andy is developing a remarkably inquisitive, sensitive, bright and determined attitude towards the world around him. I have to put myself into his shoes, and wonder what it must be like to possess his depth of feeling without adequate means of self-expression.

He doesn't have his own blog. He doesn't have friends and family to call on the telephone. He doesn't yet have the ability to delay gratification. He can't empathize with his similarly emotionally-challenged cohorts. And he can't possibly be expected to sympathize with his poor sleep-deprived parents (that won't happen until he has his own sleepless Boy-Wonder). In short, Andy must feel a lot like I do a few days before my period with no chocolate in the house.

Kahlil Gibran said, "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself."

I love Gibran's viewpoint, because it frees me from projecting myself onto Andy. Did my genes or influence cause him to be persistent, sensitive, and volatile? Perhaps. But, perhaps not. Life (God) longed for Andy to be just as he is.

Here's another often quoted verse, which makes me feel even better:

It takes every kind of people
To make what life's about
Every kind of people
To make the world go 'round

The song doesn't say It takes the easy-going, happy people
To make what life's about
The people who never resist or persist
To make the world go 'round

Nah, that would be much too boring. It wouldn't make a very good song, anyway.

Last week I picked up a copy of Your Spirited Child. The author puts a positive spin on traits that might be considered "difficult". She acknowledges that many parents of spirited kids must go through a period of mourning for the child they expected to have, or wanted to have. (For parents of disabled children, how much more intense their mourning must be!)

Mike and I wonder if this is the untold truth of parenting. Do any of us have the child or children we expect to have? (***Gasp***, this is how my parents must have felt!)

Glory Days

I try to take good pictures of my son.





I try, but I often lack the timing and cooperation of my model. (How do Dooce and Dutch manage to take such stunning portraits of their toddlers?)

At bathtime last night, Andy was busy building the "Island of Sodor" with bubbles--much too busy to both look at me and smile, let alone keep his eyes open for the camera. I could have hit the delete button, but I wanted to reassure the grandparents that we are making an effort to deliver their digital fix. Just like we are making an effort to raise a happy, healthy, likeable boy.

The boy, however, has his own plans. Today his agenda included eating a small piece of plastic electronic equipment (?), shoving magnetic plastic letters behind the radiator, and tantruming at a nearby elementary school when I tried to post a flyer about my tutoring services (how's that for a first impression?)

I suppose everything will turn out alright in the end. Nothing signals the start of winter like the smell of burning plastic in the radiator, right?

I'm sure I'll think back fondly on these glory days.

Operation

From TrueMajority.org:
"President Bush is suffering! He's got lingering war, leaky officials and unlucky poll numbers - can you find and remove the WORST problem in his cabinet?

If you are the fastest surgeon of the week, you get to put your name up in lights and win a year's supply of Ben&Jerry's ice cream.

And even if you are not the fastest, you still have a shot. We'll draw a random winner every week for 1/2 a year's worth of ice cream. To enter, just play the game or tell a friend about it."

Play the Game

*************

I'm learning that Pittsburghers come prepared for any weather. Showers and downpours may catch me in sandals and a T-shirt, but the wiser locals just pop open their umbrellas and keep on walking like it's no big thing. And, increasingly, it's become no big thing for me either. Even without the umbrella.

So whatcha wanna do is....

Mom and Dad--some suggestions for your visit! You'd think I was the one going on vacation for the enthusiasm I'm putting into this itinerary. But since my nights have been spent awake with a feverish toddler, and my days a blur of Thomas the Tank Engine, raisins and goldfish crackers...I'm looking forward to a change of pace. That and I miss you guys. So...

Sunday
After a driving tour of our Squirrel Hill neighborhood, we can head to Mt. Washington and ride the Monongahela Incline. Afterwards, we'll enjoy "the second most beautiful view in America" while dining at one of Mt. Washington’s restaurants. (Do you wonder what USA Weekend ranked the most beautiful view? Not the Golden Gate Bridge, which came in fifth. Can't guess? Read here.)

Monday
Visit the nearby Frick Art and Historical Center, and have lunch or afternoon tea at The Café at the Frick.

Tuesday
The Strip District
Heinz History Center
Lunch at Primanti Brother’s Restaurant

Wednesday
A driving tour of Pennsylvania fall foliage through
Indiana County, stopping at the Amish settlement of Smicksburg.

From Smicksburg, it’s another 25 minutes to Gobbler’s Knob, the home of Puxsutawney Phil, that famous groundhog.


Thursday
The Carnegie Museums: Art, Natural History, Science Center, The Andy Warhol Museum

Friday
Another drive in the country to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.
With a longer road trip, we can also visit the
Antiochian Village Heritage Museum

Should be a lot of fun.... n'at.