Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are…
Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,
or bury my face in my pillow,
or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky
and want, more than all the world, your return.
- Mary Jean Iron
'Cause I Have to Remember...
This morning, oh heck it could be any morning, I was yelling scolding chiding Jacob and Julianna for bickering over something extremely important stupid. You know, you've been there. If you haven't, shut up. (I hadn't either the first 18 years or so of my parenting journey. Tip: When your kids are 8 years apart, they don't fight, it would make them look rather foolish and by the time they're old enough that it wouldn't, one is grown and out.)
Anyway, afterward I was feeling a little sad and muttering under my breath wondering when this kind of insanity would stop. Time passed and honestly the bickering doesn't phase them one bit, sometimes I'm not even sure they notice when they do it, and it was time for us to leave for school. On band days I give Jacob a ride, we live about a half mile from the school and saxophones are terribly heavy you see, so to make sure I don't hear complaining all the time to be nice I give Jacob a ride. Julianna usually prefers to walk anyway, with her friend from the neighborhood and also to meet up with her big brother, sister-in-law and niece and nephew (I love, love, love that they live so close!!!!). This morning, the same morning of the petty bickering, as Julianna was walking out the door, she yelled back, "good-bye".
Right back at her, never missing a beat, was Jacob, "Good-bye, have a good day, love you."
Julianna immediately rejoined, "Love you too!"
Some days it really does appear we're doing something right. Thankfully. It's almost like a booster shot for the petty bickering that will resume sometime after school lets out.
3 comments:
Awwww. That is so nice.
But you know what gets me? Like you said, they don't even realize they are fighting. What they do remember later on is that mom yelled at them, not that they were fighting. Ugh. Sometimes it just feels like I can't win. ;)
The bickering drives me crazy too. My girls really are best friends and worst enemies .... I should try to take more notice of the 'best friend' phases and try to ignore the 'worst enemy' interludes.
I don't think my kids have ever said "I love you" to each other. The oldest two are 27 months apart and rarely argue anymore, but the youngest two are not quite 4 years apart and really don't know how to be pleasant to each other. The bickering is *constant*. I guess it doesn't help that the only boy-child is also a middle child on the autism spectrum. Triple-whammy.
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