The other day a friend asked me, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll get fired writing
about those two babies the way you do in your blog?”
…BIG PAUSE. (followed
by) HMMM… (followed by) BIG IDEA
THINK BUBBLE…
You know, yesterday was actually so damn full of “Disney
sweet happy” that
I really have nothing to blog about. Good moods were had by all, pretty much
for 9 hours straight, give or take a couple minor flare-ups. It was weird.
As if every single care of theirs just melted away when I
turned on Pandora and Toddler Radio.
We sang, clapped and danced into the afternoon to such hits like
Raffi’s “Down by the Bay” and Jewel’s version of “And the
Green Grass Grows All Around” and "Play Day" from her album The Merry Goes ‘Round.
I never realized Jewel was a toddler phenomenon. Who knew?
Yesterday we had a play day!
Sweet Pea, The Cousin and I got down. The Cousin loves to dance.
Sweet Pea not so much.
Sweet Pea’s thing is to stand up, though she’s not yet 7
months.
Her determination is amazing and quite frankly, I wish some
of us grown-ups had even a fraction of it.
Here’s an example:
She spots my backpack on the couch. Yet, she has the attached pen of The
Cousin’s
toddler-type Etch A
Sketch in her right hand and it’s clinched between her lil fingers
like a jaw-grip.
The same exact grip she had on my
earring the first time we met, hence, I’m earring-less on Wednesdays.
Anyway, so she sees my bag and begins her infamous
scoot-crawl toward it, using only
her left hand on the carpet, as the right is
gripping the pen and dragging the Etch A Sketch.
She reaches the couch, balances herself with her left hand
and presses her forehead into the couch cushion, using it for hand-like leverage to stand up.
And she f*#@king succeeds! And the thing about Sweet Pea is; if you move her away from
something she wants; be it, plastic bags, a knife on a counter, cleaning supplies…well, if
it’s what she wants, she returns to it again and again. She’s determined and
she doesn’t forget! This perturbs The Cousin because Sweet Pea usually wants
what The Cousin is playing with.
Sound familiar?
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| I will climb these bars. |
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| I will figure out how this damn thing opens. |
I admire her 50 shades of determination. It's 100% concentrated persistence and that's what it takes to make changes, to move mountains, to attain goals. What happened to yours and mine?
Sweet Pea will make the unattainable attainable even though the baby books say she shouldn't be there yet. She goes full-steam ahead, even though she crashes and burns. Head bonking is not a deterrent. She gets right back up. The Cousin and I are amazed quite frankly.
This little girl is something else. And I'm not just sayin that to keep my employment. I look at her and I not only think determined, I think fearless.
And again I wonder, what happened to mine?
The Cousin exhibits determination as well, but not as much. On Halloween, she was clearly determined not wear the sheep costume. Picture #1 indicates the start of her tool of choice:
the tantrum.
Picture #2 is the full-on foot kicking and pounding of hands on the floor. But she finally gave in and grandma was delighted. I predict Sweet Pea won't give in when she hits the big age of 18 months. Tough luck for grandma with that one.
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| Picture # 1 |
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| Picture # 2 |
I think it's good to reflect on our lives and the times that stand out with regard to our own personal persistence and determination. The times when we were over taken by huge jolts of both and we reached whatever goal we had our sights set on. And then with that, came the most wonderful feeling of basking in the satisfaction of our own accomplishment.
The best ones were of course the quiet ones; the ones we never told a soul. The ones we didn't need an award or recognition of any kind. The ones where we felt contentment inside ourselves simply because we knew we had it in us.
Maybe we still do.
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| You can do it! |
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| Life is good. |
This song will give y'all a "jump start!" Perhaps offer up just the right amount of determination you might need to get going today! Make something happen or at the very least,
have a play day!
Crank up the volume! ~tpg
Thanks, Jewel and TPG: Let's have a Play Day!! Found my feet doing the boogie woogie under my desk as Jewel sang. She writes fine poetry, too. Talented gal, that Jewel. Talented blogger and poet, that TPG! Getting the hang of it, eh? And yes, music does make the world go round, soothes the lonesome heart, stimulates the mind (and other things), and is an all-around healing balm. So keep those songs comin', TPG, keep those blogs comin' too, and keep those kids high and dry, and all will be well for the nanny-in-training. It's kind of obvious...they're growing on you!!
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