One of the things about parenting is that you are so in the thick of it that I think it's sometimes hard to see the growth you are making - I suppose this is probably true of almost anything, but for some reason I'm really feeling it right now about parenting. And I know how cliche' this sounds, but I want better for my kid than I had. Not that I was destitute, or missing anything critical. But I want my child to have every advantage I can give her, and I'm thinking more about experiences and character than about money. One of those experiences is seeing a model for intentionally healthy living. I never saw my parents exercise or pursue a sport; however, they both worked hard - gardening, cleaning, etc - and were healthy people. But I never was encouraged to try any sports, and that was never a path that I chose to travel, not even in college or as an adult. However, lately, I have discovered that I enjoy running. The solitude, the rhythm, the time to think. And Lauren has been asking to join me. We had to set some boundaries, because one of the reasons I so prize my running time is because it is equivalent to solitude for me. So she alternates days with me when the weather is nice, and she plays with Nana while I run on the treadmill when the weather in inclement. Lately, though, she's been asking to run on the treadmill after me, and usually walks/jogs about .75 of a mile. Pretty impressive to me.
And I started taking some Zumba classes this week, for variety. Last time was scary and made me feel very incompetent, but I got back on the horse and tried again tonight and it was MUCH better. And Lauren joined us - hopped up on the mat floor and gave it her all.
I'm feeling proud to be providing her with something I didn't have. She sees me work hard, but she also sees me value my health and my time with my friends doing this. I'm feeling good about filling in a hole for her that I wasn't sure I was going to have the capability of patching.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
More Zoo
So that previous post was turning into a short novel; I had to break it up into more than one day!
After visiting the jungle, we went to see the giraffes. Lauren just finished reading the book "The White Elephant" about a mystical giraffe and a young girl with the power to heal it and other animals. Of course, she is obsessed with it now, and was really looking forward to going to see the giraffes. There were 3 calves playing outside, frolicking around in the snow, obviously a little flustered when they put their muzzles into the cold snow. We watched the zookeepers exercise the elephants, then went into the Africa building. They were hosing out the rhino, elephant and hippo enclosures, moving the animals around to vacate the different spaces for cleaning. It was great timing - interesting to watch. However, here's our interesting fact for the day: Rhinos mark their territory, much like dogs. Every single time their space is hosed down, they re-mark it. With their urine. Which is white, like milk. And is forcefully sprayed, much like a small fire hose, and will spray the people standing near the exhibit. Ick.
I much preferred the giraffes.
This is my favorite giraffe picture from our visit!
So after the rhino experience, we went to see the chimp and orangutan exhibit. This wound up being, by far, Lauren's favorite part of the day. There was an orangutan sitting beside the glass in the indoor area. It was hunched over and appeared terribly bored. No one else was around, so there was room for Lauren to go sit in front of the glass, right beside it. She spent about 30 minutes looking at him, sitting so that she mirrored him, showing him her stuffed owl, putting her hands up beside his, etc. It was moving to watch her try to communicate with him, and it was fascinating to see how similar they were - they were almost exactly the same size. When I stood near her, her reflection in the glass exactly fell over him - it was almost eerie. She was teary by the time we left; really moved by how human he seemed, his eyelashes when he studied her, the way he did things with his hands that we do, too.
I always wonder how much the experiences she has now will shape her life later. I remember things that happened to me when I was her age. I wonder if she'll remember this, or other things she is exposed to - art, different cultures, choices she sees others make, music, different cities and states and landscapes... I know that pretty much every girl her age says that they want to be a veterinarian, and that is her current belief, as well. I wonder how much her experiences with animals in the past year will influence her - puppies, helping the vet with surgery, the orangutan, the fox, etc. One of the things I feel strongly about as a parent is giving her some exposure to cultures/choices/artwork/hobbies/quirks that are atypical in our area, so that she knows there is a big wide diverse world out there for her to explore, and so that she doesn't feel like she has to conform to what is typical here in our little farming community in Kansas.
After visiting the jungle, we went to see the giraffes. Lauren just finished reading the book "The White Elephant" about a mystical giraffe and a young girl with the power to heal it and other animals. Of course, she is obsessed with it now, and was really looking forward to going to see the giraffes. There were 3 calves playing outside, frolicking around in the snow, obviously a little flustered when they put their muzzles into the cold snow. We watched the zookeepers exercise the elephants, then went into the Africa building. They were hosing out the rhino, elephant and hippo enclosures, moving the animals around to vacate the different spaces for cleaning. It was great timing - interesting to watch. However, here's our interesting fact for the day: Rhinos mark their territory, much like dogs. Every single time their space is hosed down, they re-mark it. With their urine. Which is white, like milk. And is forcefully sprayed, much like a small fire hose, and will spray the people standing near the exhibit. Ick.
I much preferred the giraffes.
So after the rhino experience, we went to see the chimp and orangutan exhibit. This wound up being, by far, Lauren's favorite part of the day. There was an orangutan sitting beside the glass in the indoor area. It was hunched over and appeared terribly bored. No one else was around, so there was room for Lauren to go sit in front of the glass, right beside it. She spent about 30 minutes looking at him, sitting so that she mirrored him, showing him her stuffed owl, putting her hands up beside his, etc. It was moving to watch her try to communicate with him, and it was fascinating to see how similar they were - they were almost exactly the same size. When I stood near her, her reflection in the glass exactly fell over him - it was almost eerie. She was teary by the time we left; really moved by how human he seemed, his eyelashes when he studied her, the way he did things with his hands that we do, too.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The zoo on my "surprise" day off
Yesterday (MLK, Jr Day) was an unexpected day off for me. When our district set our calendar for the year, it was a Professional Development day of meetings. However, due to all of the budget craziness, teachers in my district did not get a raise or get to move on the pay scale again this year. So, as a compensation, the union negotiated for us to get MLK, Jr Day off. I am sure that they communicated this with us at some point, however, I totally missed the memo until last week, when we got a reminder email - an extra day off! Since I had planned to already accomplish my necessary weekend nuttiness in the normal 2 days, I hadn't planned tasks for Monday, so it was an entire UNSCHEDULED day! L and I decided to take advantage of it and go to the zoo in Wichita - the weather was supposed to hit 47 degrees, so we figured it would be fairly comfortable. The day before had a high of 32 and today's high of 32 was already hit early this morning, with the temperature falling now. There were only about 20 cars at the whole zoo, and it was an amazing experience to roam the zoo with hardly any other people there. We spent 3 1/2 hours there and Lauren says it's the best zoo visit she's ever had.
We got to feed the ducks, something Lauren doesn't usually do, since she's frightened of them. When she was tiny a duck bit her while she was feeding bread to them, although I'm not sure that "bit" is actually the technical term... :) Anyhow, she typically avoids them, but they were very calm and no one else was around, so she got brave and knelt down and let them pick the little pellets out of her palm. Very empowering for her.
We got to linger in the American Farms barn, looking at horses and donkeys and mules and longhorns, etc, etc. They were all scratching themselves yesterday, much to Lauren's amusement. It's funny how the little things can bring such big giggles.
Then we went to the jungle, Lauren's favorite place at the zoo. Lauren has long been fascinated by bats, and the jungle has a large group of bats. When Lauren was little, she used to stand under them and try to squeak to them at levels that they could sense with their echolocation (or some such explanation), but she's outgrown that stage. However, we now stand under them and try to communicate with them through significant eye contact, apparently. They are really cute little things - fruit bats -with sweet faces and inquisitive eyes, and the cutest twitchy ears. The jungle was so empty of people that we got to see things we've never seen on any of our prior visits - birds, fish, acouchi skittering around all over. Lauren was most mesmerized by the fish, though. There is a tunnel you walk through, where the water is on both sides of and above you. Often, it is packed with people and we don't spend much time in it. However, we meandered through this time, and got to see quite a show. Lauren had stopped by a particular window pane, and an enormous catfish seemed to take it upon himself to provide a show for her. He swam in gigantic circles in front of her, over and over, for nearly the entire time she stood there. For some reason, all of the big fish were on one side of the tunnel, and it was interesting to see them follow swimming patterns and run into each other and hit against the glass occasionally.
We got to feed the ducks, something Lauren doesn't usually do, since she's frightened of them. When she was tiny a duck bit her while she was feeding bread to them, although I'm not sure that "bit" is actually the technical term... :) Anyhow, she typically avoids them, but they were very calm and no one else was around, so she got brave and knelt down and let them pick the little pellets out of her palm. Very empowering for her.
We got to linger in the American Farms barn, looking at horses and donkeys and mules and longhorns, etc, etc. They were all scratching themselves yesterday, much to Lauren's amusement. It's funny how the little things can bring such big giggles.
Then we went to the jungle, Lauren's favorite place at the zoo. Lauren has long been fascinated by bats, and the jungle has a large group of bats. When Lauren was little, she used to stand under them and try to squeak to them at levels that they could sense with their echolocation (or some such explanation), but she's outgrown that stage. However, we now stand under them and try to communicate with them through significant eye contact, apparently. They are really cute little things - fruit bats -with sweet faces and inquisitive eyes, and the cutest twitchy ears. The jungle was so empty of people that we got to see things we've never seen on any of our prior visits - birds, fish, acouchi skittering around all over. Lauren was most mesmerized by the fish, though. There is a tunnel you walk through, where the water is on both sides of and above you. Often, it is packed with people and we don't spend much time in it. However, we meandered through this time, and got to see quite a show. Lauren had stopped by a particular window pane, and an enormous catfish seemed to take it upon himself to provide a show for her. He swam in gigantic circles in front of her, over and over, for nearly the entire time she stood there. For some reason, all of the big fish were on one side of the tunnel, and it was interesting to see them follow swimming patterns and run into each other and hit against the glass occasionally.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tonight as I was tucking L into bed, I was struck anew by what a daunting, precious responsibility it is to have a child love you. She trusts me implicitly, and unwaveringly places her heart and her faith in me. What a blessing to have been given - and also what a responsibility to make sure I do my utmost to guide her and provide for her and be worthy of that trust. Nothing is more precious than having her ask for one more cuddle before she goes to sleep and hearing her whisper, "I love you so, so much Mommy."
Monday, January 3, 2011
Great laugh quote
As I was just tucking Lauren into bed, we were laughing about something and she said, "My laugh is too big for my ribcage!" :)
I love that - these moments of laughing so hard our faces hurt, loving being together!
I love that - these moments of laughing so hard our faces hurt, loving being together!
2010 in Review
When I started this blog, I had wonderful intentions of posting every day, so my far-flung family could keep up with the minutiae of our days, if they wanted. However, that quickly landed by the wayside as the reality of our minutiae keeps my busy until midnight most days.
At any rate, I wanted to record some of what 2010 has held for us:
*I started running in June (or July, I can't remember), and have grown to love it. It is my "escape" time, when I get to blast my music on my iPod and no one talks to me. And I've lost 35 pounds, which is also pretty nice.
*Our dog, Muddy, had 11 puppies at the end of the summer, much to our surprise - and Lauren's delight. We didn't realize she was pregnant until she was quite a way along the process. She turned into a snarly protective mama for a while there, and we were very concerned about the possibility of not being able to keep her, in our child-busy neighborhood. But once the pups were gone, she reverted back to her normal self, thankfully!
*We went to South Dakota, Wyoming, Estes Park, etc during the summer - one of my favorite vacations. (Although, honestly, I think I say that about every vacation). I love exploring new places, and this was excellent. Mount Rushmore, caves, hiking in Estes Park, making it to the Continental Divide, etc. We are trying to decide what to do this next year - the Grand Canyon, Louisiana, or Oregon. I want to go everywhere, and I want to do it all now, while Lauren still loves traveling with us!
*I learned to make egg salad, which I had never eaten before, but now love. On english muffins, with canadian bacon and cheese. Yum.
*We got a new grill last year for a combo Christmas-birthday -anniversary gift, and I'm a huge fan of it. I am now the Grilling Queen for dinner. If it's above freezing, I grill at least a couple of nights a week.
*Lauren got a new gifted teacher, who she adores. I love that she is getting to explore and challenge herself outside of the classroom - while I work hard to challenge her in the room, I know that sometimes she's doing things that are below her ability level. And I hate to make her work all evening, too, just to challenge her brain. So I'm really digging her new teacher!
*Lauren is clay-obsessed. My dining room table is currently covered with packets of Sculpey clay, and little tiny sculptures, and that's the norm. Horses, unicorns, tiny cupcakes, custom-made-to-order themed cakes that are two inches tall, little people, dogs, the list goes on and on...
*Our vacuum bit the dust (it was already nearly dead) when I vacuumed up a CFL lightbulb that I'd broken. Note to anyone reading this: whatever you do, DON'T vacuum up CFL debris!
*Lauren is growing her hair out, to donate to Locks of Love. It had been chin-length to start with, and it now about 4 inches below her shoulders.
*My baby turned 10. That seems so surreal - 10...more than halfway to 18. Two digits. How is that possible?
*We hardly raced at all this past year - just a couple of times at the end of the season. However, Stuart bought an enclosed trailer during the fall, so he is very excited about racing next year - he's already planning which races he'll start with in the spring! And I love that - I love any excuse to travel. There are some good things about going to tracks that we are familiar with - places that feel like home to Lauren and me (Kansas City, Topeka, OKC) - and I adore going new places and getting to explore while we're not at the track - I'm hoping to race in Louisiana or in Arizona this year. Not that I relish the concept of 14 hours driving there - or the 14 hours driving home that feels like 20 hours, but the middle usually makes it worth it. We found out this summer on the SD trip that Lauren and I both get carsick, so now we know to address that issue, too!
Okay, my sister and her munchkins are coming over today, so I'm going to go clean my table and start dinner. I'll add more to this later, when I'm not mentally making to-do lists in my head and distracting myself.
Carla
At any rate, I wanted to record some of what 2010 has held for us:
*I started running in June (or July, I can't remember), and have grown to love it. It is my "escape" time, when I get to blast my music on my iPod and no one talks to me. And I've lost 35 pounds, which is also pretty nice.
*Our dog, Muddy, had 11 puppies at the end of the summer, much to our surprise - and Lauren's delight. We didn't realize she was pregnant until she was quite a way along the process. She turned into a snarly protective mama for a while there, and we were very concerned about the possibility of not being able to keep her, in our child-busy neighborhood. But once the pups were gone, she reverted back to her normal self, thankfully!
*We went to South Dakota, Wyoming, Estes Park, etc during the summer - one of my favorite vacations. (Although, honestly, I think I say that about every vacation). I love exploring new places, and this was excellent. Mount Rushmore, caves, hiking in Estes Park, making it to the Continental Divide, etc. We are trying to decide what to do this next year - the Grand Canyon, Louisiana, or Oregon. I want to go everywhere, and I want to do it all now, while Lauren still loves traveling with us!
*I learned to make egg salad, which I had never eaten before, but now love. On english muffins, with canadian bacon and cheese. Yum.
*We got a new grill last year for a combo Christmas-birthday -anniversary gift, and I'm a huge fan of it. I am now the Grilling Queen for dinner. If it's above freezing, I grill at least a couple of nights a week.
*Lauren got a new gifted teacher, who she adores. I love that she is getting to explore and challenge herself outside of the classroom - while I work hard to challenge her in the room, I know that sometimes she's doing things that are below her ability level. And I hate to make her work all evening, too, just to challenge her brain. So I'm really digging her new teacher!
*Lauren is clay-obsessed. My dining room table is currently covered with packets of Sculpey clay, and little tiny sculptures, and that's the norm. Horses, unicorns, tiny cupcakes, custom-made-to-order themed cakes that are two inches tall, little people, dogs, the list goes on and on...
*Our vacuum bit the dust (it was already nearly dead) when I vacuumed up a CFL lightbulb that I'd broken. Note to anyone reading this: whatever you do, DON'T vacuum up CFL debris!
*Lauren is growing her hair out, to donate to Locks of Love. It had been chin-length to start with, and it now about 4 inches below her shoulders.
*My baby turned 10. That seems so surreal - 10...more than halfway to 18. Two digits. How is that possible?
*We hardly raced at all this past year - just a couple of times at the end of the season. However, Stuart bought an enclosed trailer during the fall, so he is very excited about racing next year - he's already planning which races he'll start with in the spring! And I love that - I love any excuse to travel. There are some good things about going to tracks that we are familiar with - places that feel like home to Lauren and me (Kansas City, Topeka, OKC) - and I adore going new places and getting to explore while we're not at the track - I'm hoping to race in Louisiana or in Arizona this year. Not that I relish the concept of 14 hours driving there - or the 14 hours driving home that feels like 20 hours, but the middle usually makes it worth it. We found out this summer on the SD trip that Lauren and I both get carsick, so now we know to address that issue, too!
Okay, my sister and her munchkins are coming over today, so I'm going to go clean my table and start dinner. I'll add more to this later, when I'm not mentally making to-do lists in my head and distracting myself.
Carla
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