Topic of the Week
Acceptance
Ability to be with people, situations and things without the need
to force, change or alter them.
Ha! Based on the title of this post it is clear Acceptance week couldn't have come along at a better time! I really had intended to rant on about my inadequacies as a parent since I just spent a week in New York with my family and I took NOT ONE photo. I have been having issues with my camera for almost a year at this point and decided that I would be getting some new smart phone with a camera to help insure I take at least a few shots each week but I have to admit being paralyzed by all the awesome options out there. I MUST get this resolved!
You may have noticed I haven't been around here for a while. I had some plan about getting posts available for release while I was away last week but it just never materialized. I wanted to at least mention that I was going to be away but then I got all paranoid about broadcasting that we were going to be away for all of the cyber world to know. I don't advertise my actual street address in this blog but some of my super cyber-cautious hubby's inclinations have started to rub off on me. In any case, here is the quick run-down of the trip.
My Mom lives in upstate New York, four hour's drive from any LARGE airport which meant we were required to take a two hop trip to get within a one hour drive of her house. Coming from California, I saw this East Coast trip as a great way to get my girl acclimated to an earlier rising schedule as we roll towards the start of preschool so we let her go to bed late with hopeful anticipation of a nap on the plane and a more normalized sleep schedule on the return side. Ha! Not one little bit of nappage until the shorter Chicago to Albany Flight which insured her being well rested when we arrived at Nonnie's door at 1:00AM. Perhaps needless to say, this set us up for maintaining our California sleep schedule and now, two days back from our vacation it is clear I am no closer to a good school bedtime schedule. Hopefully being rousted regularly by 8:00am will encourage a regular bed time. I'll keep you posted!
The trip was terrific, due in great part by the fact that we had no fixed plans for the trip. The whole purpose was to hang with my mom and not try to see every high school friend I barely remember which can be my tendency since my Facebook addiction. The girl was on mostly great behavior and my Sweetie got to unwind and disconnect from his busy work life too. My sister was able to come by for the last couple of days for an added treat. Her dog did insist on treating The Girl like a small lost sheep and continually herded her around the house so the large Tortoise my sis also had in tow was a much bigger hit. Who knew there were hours of entertainment available in watching Sir Elwood eat rasberries, peaches and assorted greens.
One of the cute "girl moments" of the trip was when she noticed the bowl of M&Ms my mom had precariously located on a table right at three year old eye hight.
"Nonnie, your M & M's are awfully low. At my house they are up high."
Nonnie, "Why do you think that is so?"
"So, I don't get them. You should put your's up high Nonnie."
This transpired after she spent a good hour intermittently eyeballing them AND also restraining herself from grabbing some. I was very proud of her restraint and common sense knowledge of her capabilities. Nonnie subsequently moved the M&Ms to the top of the refrigerator.
Of course since arriving home she thought it might be a good idea for us to put some M&Ms down low "like Nonnie's." LOL, I'll keep you posted as to when I get right on that!
Preschool starts tomorrow and I'm a little sad. The freewheeling baby time is behind us and following a school calendar begins! We're doing a parent participation thing so once a week I will be there with her but twice a week I will have my mornings to myself. I'm looking forward to that and hope that our little separation is good for both of us. Three years ago I couldn't imagine stepping one foot away from her but now I think we're ready.
Phew! Acceptance week couldn't have come at a better time. (and thankfully I don't have my camera issues resolved in time for you to see my tears!)
Next post: Wordless Wednesday
My Thirteen Virtues of Great Parenting are:
Fun, Discipline, Creativity, Love, Wonder, Listening, Curiosity, Compassion,
Trust, Acceptance, Empowerment, Humility and Flexibility
This week is all about Acceptance. Next week 's topic is Empowerment.
