Fun with Mom
Read about being a mother of 12 as our resident 'Supermom'
shares her wise parenting advice.
The fact is, I'm just a kid, myself!
Now
in the latter part of my child raising career, the two youngest of my 12
children, at ages 7 and 9 still find me a necessary part of their existence. I
struggle to return to the work force, knowing that I need to carve out a
different life for myself, as my kids become more self-sufficient. However, my
kids are not content to manage without me. I ache to sit at the PC and knock
out stories, and they ache for my company. When I give in and spend time with
my kids in the great outdoors, I remember why it is that I wanted a lot of
kids. The fact is, deep down, I'm just a kid, myself!
Give in with good grace
Yesterday,
I agreed to leave the keyboard and take them to the neighborhood park. My kids
were old enough to go out on their own to the pocket park of our gated
community, and I wanted them to get some fresh air and sunshine, but I knew
that the only way to persuade them to go was if I went with them. I gave in
with good grace, knowing that I too would benefit from leaving our home at the
height of its winter mustiness, with spring cleaning just around the corner but
not yet in sight.
My
kids packed up a snack for our little trip. There's something about being in
the park that always seems to build up their young appetites. They took some yogurt, plastic spoons, crackers, fruit, and napkins. When we arrived at the
park, they decided to eat first and play later. They spread their little repast
on a park bench and dug in with gusto. They took turns feeding me, and I
pretended I was their baby. I opened my mouth and grunted for food. This
cracked them up.
Laughing ourselves silly
At
last, all of us fed, they clambered up the ladder that leads to the slide. I
knew the drill. I went to the end of the slide and positioned myself so that
their feet would push into my belly and knock me over. Of course, they didn't
really kick me; I was just acting out a part, complete with sound effects. I
would keel over like a dead man, each time one of them came down the slide. We
all got to giggling so hard, we ended up in a pile, laughing ourselves silly.
