It's Sunday morning and I can hear Emma and Cole downstairs. Cole spent the night last night and now Emma is reading to him. She is really reading to him. This amazes me. I am so proud of her. They are having a blast and I can hear their laughter coming up from downstairs.
Last night I was reading 'Little House on the Prairie' to both of them. We were all cuddled up in bed and they had just finished a long fit of the giggles. I was trying to calm them down, but it wasn't easy. I found myself having to remember not to raise my voice and just be patient. After all, it wasn't a school night. And I am trying to be "flexible".
Finally, they stopped and I started reading a chapter called "Indian Jamboree." Laura Ingalls was describing hearing the Indians make funny noises from their throats, so I tried to interject my version of how this would sound. "Hi ya! Hi ya!" I started. Both of the kids stopped and stared at me and then immediately burst out laughing and Emma said "No, that's not in the book, Mama!". Cole just shook his head and kept laughing. I don't know why, but I started laughing myself. I laughed so hard and I couldn't stop. Tears came out of my eyes. All three of us were laughing hysterically, and it felt so good to just laugh with them. (I am laughing now just thinking about it.) I hugged Emma since she was the closest to me, and Cole said "You love Emma, Mama Suzi?" "Yes, Cole. I do. I love Emma, and I love you, too!". He looked at me and blushed.
I love that we have this relationship. Our blended family. Cole is Albert and Jen's little one, but Coley is such a part of my life, and the lives of Sebastian and Emma. We don't use the word "step" when referring to him, because that is not really what he is. He's not a step brother, or step son. There is no step about it. We are just all one big family. Cole is a wonderful two year old and we all share in the joy of raising a toddler, a five year old, and an eleven year old, who all make us laugh.
It is so healing to laugh. I like to laugh every single day, but sometimes I forget how important this is.
I wonder what will be my Indian Jamboree moment today?
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sometimes I forget
Today I woke up to snow falling down again. It's beautiful, but I remembered that I am taking Emma into the city today to see the butterflies at the Natural History Museum, and I thought about how it will be a pretty slushy trip. Especially because Emma likes to step in snow. And slush.
I went upstairs to get my cup of coffee and to sit on the couch and "be still" for a minute and was careful to be extra quiet because Sebastian's room is next to the family room. I suddenly remembered that he is not here. He is on vacation with Albert until Thursday. It is amazing, but Sebastian has had two homes since he was three years old and still sometimes I forget. It's not that it makes me sad, because I know that he is happy in both homes, but it's just a weird longing that I still feel when he is gone, and I imagine that I will feel this forever. I am sure having two homes is not easy for him, but it is all that he knows. I feel so badly for him when he forgets things in one home or the other because it seems to cause him a lot of frustration, but that seems to be the worst of it. I hope that when he grows up that he doesn't remember that frustration as much as he remembers that both of his parents (and now his two sets of step-parents) love him so much and wanted to make sure the he could have two happy homes instead of one that had a lot of tension. I hope. Not all families have such good relationships with their "ex's", but we do, and I really appreciate that. I hope that Sebastian appreciates it, too.
"I love you, honey, and I miss you a lot. I can't wait until you get back. Have a nice vacation with Daddy, Jen and Cole, and when you get back, Emma and I will tell you all about the butterflies..."
I went upstairs to get my cup of coffee and to sit on the couch and "be still" for a minute and was careful to be extra quiet because Sebastian's room is next to the family room. I suddenly remembered that he is not here. He is on vacation with Albert until Thursday. It is amazing, but Sebastian has had two homes since he was three years old and still sometimes I forget. It's not that it makes me sad, because I know that he is happy in both homes, but it's just a weird longing that I still feel when he is gone, and I imagine that I will feel this forever. I am sure having two homes is not easy for him, but it is all that he knows. I feel so badly for him when he forgets things in one home or the other because it seems to cause him a lot of frustration, but that seems to be the worst of it. I hope that when he grows up that he doesn't remember that frustration as much as he remembers that both of his parents (and now his two sets of step-parents) love him so much and wanted to make sure the he could have two happy homes instead of one that had a lot of tension. I hope. Not all families have such good relationships with their "ex's", but we do, and I really appreciate that. I hope that Sebastian appreciates it, too.
"I love you, honey, and I miss you a lot. I can't wait until you get back. Have a nice vacation with Daddy, Jen and Cole, and when you get back, Emma and I will tell you all about the butterflies..."
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sebastian's Corner
I wanted to post this video as a proud parent to my eleven year old son, Sebastian. He is an avid reader and since the movie is coming out soon, he wanted to share his thoughts on "The Lightning Thief". I would love to hear what your kids think of this...
Sebastian's thoughts on The Lightning Thief
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