Stories for Our Children

Monday, May 31, 2010

A Parent's Reward

I am constantly awed by my children.

How wise they are.

How random their observations.

How pure their hearts (bless 'em!).

My 3 yo says to me out of nowhere as she leans her head on my shoulder: 'Mummy, I wuv you. We're best friends.'

A statement of fact.

Of affirmation.

It never fails to make me smile, and to give thanks to God for His gift.

To have come from the dysfunctional childhood that I did, and to now be able to savor the intimacy of a strong parent-child bond, is more than I could ever ask for.

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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Jesus & The Preschooler

God has surely spoken into the life of my 3 yo.

When I'm not feeling my best, she assures me God will heal me - and promptly prays for me. "Jesus, mummy has a sore leg. Amen."

When she's afraid, she tells herself and me that God is still here.

Today, she opted for a short-sleeved top after her bath. When I asked if she was cold, she said God is keeping her warm.

When she's recovered from a meltdown, she credits God for making her "all better".

There is no doubt, no hesitation, no theological to-and-fro with a child.

God is still here. It's as simple as that. :)

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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Satiating the Maternal Guilt

I have finally got round to fixing the "broken windows" in my children's ever-expanding list of physical needs.

Today, I bought Beth a pair of size 11 trainers from BigW. They aren't the most expensive ($25) or the best quality, but they will have to do. Kids wear out clothes and shoes so quickly there's no point in spending too much. I'm relieved she can finally ditch the white pair she's been wearing uncomplainingly to PE and Sports. They're so clearly falling apart at the seams that I'm not even going to offer them to the Op Shop.

An observation about trainers: it's funny how size 11 in one brand can be different from size 11 in another.

About 6 months ago, I decided to upsize Beth from the said size 10's and, blithely assuming the next size up was an 11, that was what I bought. Till now, she has not been able to fit into them; when she breaks into a run, one shoe flies off. She has had some embarrassing moments at Sports with the shoes, but like a good soldier, she's just taken it in her stride.

Here's the thing. The size 11 I bought her today is just a little bigger than her current pair and smaller than the too-big size 11's. I brought both old pairs of shoes along to be sure I got the sizing right, that's how I know. Third time lucky?

I also stopped by at Best & Less and found these size 2 trakkies for J. The poor thing has been wearing her size 1's forever even though she is 3. It took someone else to observe that her pants are mid-shin (hubby actually) to jolt me out of my denial of reality.

The strange thing about size 2 is, they're so hard to find. I don't know if it's only B&L that hides their size 2 clothing in obscure places, but it took me about 15 min to finally locate them. The size 3+ were prominently displayed at eye level, and baby sizes are the easiest thing to spot, but anything over size 1 was in the bottom rack in the middle of a huge selection of baby-plus sized clothing, partly crowded out by the rows of clothing above. Weird.

Last week, I found J a pair of size 7 joggers to replace her tatty white pair. She still wants to wear the white pair to daycare, bless her. But we agreed that on weekends and outings, she will wear her nice new pink pair. Just so Mummy doesn't feel other mums are staring at my kid and feeling sorry that she is so neglected!

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Thursday, May 06, 2010

Sporting Accomplishments

I am v impressed by Beth's accomplishments outside of school.

After 3 months of jujitsu lessons, she has been awarded her first colored belt!

We just ordered the official uniform last week, and she came home tonight with a purple belt from her Hanshi. Hubby has been taking her to classes for the past month, and has noticed some improvement. She used to be so 'soft' compared to the other kids. This week, he reported that she managed the pushups.

At yesterday's swim session, the assessor who goes round recording the progress of each student informed me that she has bumped Beth up from Level 1 to Level 3. So when we re-enrol for Term 3, Beth will be in the L3 class.

This has been one of those pleasant surprises where once again I am learning not to judge a book by its cover.

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