Reading parenting columns is a dangerous business. You should go back to playing Fruit Nin… more
Posts Tagged ‘ella’
0
100 Faces of Fall
By Daddy Brad Friday, October 9th, 2009
Transition is always difficult, but none more so than the transition from summer vacation to the start of school. Indeed, this autumnal change over was no cakewalk for our family given the exciting summer we experienced. A brand new baby joined our family! With the new little dude around Walker and Ella’s end of summer adjustment wasn’t solely an earlier wake up and go to bed time, but more importantly learning to share Mom and Dad’s time with their new little brother.
Thanks to the lazy summer schedule, Mom and I were able to spend quite a bit of one on one time with each of the older siblings in between diaper changes and colic soothing. In fact, an entire evening each week was dedicated to pursuing an activity of their choosing. Walker and I played lots of putt-putt, pitched washers and visited costume stores, while Ella’s sole request was to grab a Churro at Costco and then feed the ducks at the park.
But now that school has begun, our time is tight. The lazy exploits of summer seem like a distant memory. The long days at the pool, vacations to interesting places and stay up late movie watching/ice cream parties, have given way to homework, soccer practice and early bedtimes. Even though we try to take several interesting family outings during the school year, like a quick muddy trip to the Austin City Limits Music fest, most of our time together as a family is spent at practices, carpool and around the dinner table. My question is, given this frantic pace will we remember any of the details of these hectic, yet precious years? We won.
Zen And The Art Of Parenting
By Daddy Brad Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
This morning’s mad rush to get out of the door on time was side tracked by my daughter. She lost her shoes. Actually, she lost her back up pair of shoes. She lost her everyday pair of shoes last week. I tore the house apart, searched the garage, and scoured the front yard, back yard and side yard. No shoes!
Our choice of footwear for the day was between an old pair of church shoes, that were 3 sizes too small and a one size fits all pair of pink fuzzy snow boots. She chose the snow boots. By the way, it is going to be 80 and sunny in Austin today.
During the frantic search, as my frustration level began to boil from the prospect of once again running behind and having to take the walk of shame in front of the entire school as I drop my son off at chapel, late again, it hit me. Lighten up dude. Enjoy this. This is a funny and precious moment. Little Miss Ella is adorable in those boots and she is very proud to wear them. So she lost two pairs of shoes in a week, it’s really not a big deal. These are the moments that make childhood special and I better enjoy them now, because all to soon, they will be gone.
In no time, the kids will be grown, the house empty and Ma and I will be sitting alone, eating oat bran, covering our legs with lap blankets to cut the chill, discussing Cousin Rob’s latest bout of diverticulitis and longing for the hectic precious days of child rearing.
So I vowed this morning to slow down, to not get frustrated when things don’t go as planned and to enjoy the precious moments of my kids childhood. To savor, if you will, the lost shoes, the crayon pictures on the wall, the bathroom sink full of mud and roly polys, the cell phone memory full of pictures of the ground, and the millions of other gifts my kids give me every day.
I will save my frustration for old age when I can’t eat pizza any longer because it gives me the heartburn something fierce.
