Two loaded little words
There are a few phrases that I make a conscious effort not to say to Cache. Okay, I lied, there are actually a TON of them, but most of them are totally inappropriate anyway, so I just let those fly on the trapeze in my circus of a head. One of the phrases though, that seems to want to roll of my tongue about 3829 times a day, is "hurry up!" Or, "come on!"
Anyone who has ever hung out with a toddler knows one thing for sure, they are on their own time schedule. No, they are in their own universe! They don't just stop to smell the roses, they stop to admire the cigarette butts in the gutter, the bark on the trees, the flies on the grass, the bees on the lavender, the trucks driving by, the sound of a distant train, the kitty in the window, the open garbage can lid, the dirt in the sidewalk crack, the rollie pollies, the garbage, and the list goes on. Seriously, we aren't even at the end of the block yet!
Toddlers take forever to eat, examining and exploring their food with great interest until in my sons case, deciding that they don't want it after all. What, did you like spend time preparing that? They take forever to brush their teeth, making faces in the mirror and talking about sugar bugs which leads to talking about real bugs which leads us to the backyard looking under a rock when we should be sleeping. Add to the equation that toddlers are also notorious for wanting to do things themselves, which we all knows means v e r y s l o w l y and often mixed in with some frustration and tears, and it's no wonder I/we just want them to hurry up!
There have been times when I am literally vibrating with the desire to help, aka hurry him along, or to do it myself because, holy shit you take forever and I could do this in 5 seconds!!! And I could, we all could. Adults are bigger, smarter, and far more skilled than toddlers. And they should be, they have an entire life of experience behind them and have forgotten how difficult it is to learn new things. Many adults, I being one of them, aren't too keen on learning new things or changing up our comfortable routines because guess what, it slows you down and it is HARD! Kids, toddlers, they just don't care. They are resilient, determined, entering each day with a deep drive to learn more about their world, their bodies and how things work.
This is likely the only time of their lives that they will be as motivated to learn. Because holy shit, everything is AMAZING!! If they were bigger and didn't spend half the day trying to kill themselves they would be pretty fucking handy too!
Here, move that giant pile of rocks from the driveway to the yard. Really!?!? I can do it all my myself?!?! Okay!?!?! You would NEVER hear that form a teenager or adult. You see, as adults we have a little thing called responsibility. We know that we have a doctors appointment in 10 minutes or that we need to prepare dinner or that we actually really DO need to use the bathroom right now and not read 348209 books. Adults are jaded, spirits are squelched, routines are in place and the burning passion to learn had dwindled. Wow, thanks Anne, it's kind of depressing when you put it that way, but it is true.
When was the last time you painstakingly studied an object of which you had no idea how to use? When is the last time you delved into a new field of study head first and ready to learn? Can you even remember the last time you stopped and looked up at the clouds or the moon? I can, but that is only because I have a very determined two year old reminding me all day every day to slow down, just SLOW DOWN!!
Sure, life happens and there are actually a lot of things that do need to get done as adults, but when you take the time to slow down and examine what is really important and what can wait, you make room for bunnies in the clouds and airplanes flying by. You actually watch the interesting garbage truck lift your can. You slow down and explain how food is cooked and how you mix ingredients to make muffins. In short, you LIVE! Toddler are the most epic lovers of life out there; it's us adults that really don't get it.
P.S. I have already told Cache to hurry up in one form or another like 3289 times today, BUT I have resisted at least twice as many times. Baby steps friends, baby steps.
Anyone who has ever hung out with a toddler knows one thing for sure, they are on their own time schedule. No, they are in their own universe! They don't just stop to smell the roses, they stop to admire the cigarette butts in the gutter, the bark on the trees, the flies on the grass, the bees on the lavender, the trucks driving by, the sound of a distant train, the kitty in the window, the open garbage can lid, the dirt in the sidewalk crack, the rollie pollies, the garbage, and the list goes on. Seriously, we aren't even at the end of the block yet!
Toddlers take forever to eat, examining and exploring their food with great interest until in my sons case, deciding that they don't want it after all. What, did you like spend time preparing that? They take forever to brush their teeth, making faces in the mirror and talking about sugar bugs which leads to talking about real bugs which leads us to the backyard looking under a rock when we should be sleeping. Add to the equation that toddlers are also notorious for wanting to do things themselves, which we all knows means v e r y s l o w l y and often mixed in with some frustration and tears, and it's no wonder I/we just want them to hurry up!
There have been times when I am literally vibrating with the desire to help, aka hurry him along, or to do it myself because, holy shit you take forever and I could do this in 5 seconds!!! And I could, we all could. Adults are bigger, smarter, and far more skilled than toddlers. And they should be, they have an entire life of experience behind them and have forgotten how difficult it is to learn new things. Many adults, I being one of them, aren't too keen on learning new things or changing up our comfortable routines because guess what, it slows you down and it is HARD! Kids, toddlers, they just don't care. They are resilient, determined, entering each day with a deep drive to learn more about their world, their bodies and how things work.
This is likely the only time of their lives that they will be as motivated to learn. Because holy shit, everything is AMAZING!! If they were bigger and didn't spend half the day trying to kill themselves they would be pretty fucking handy too!
Here, move that giant pile of rocks from the driveway to the yard. Really!?!? I can do it all my myself?!?! Okay!?!?! You would NEVER hear that form a teenager or adult. You see, as adults we have a little thing called responsibility. We know that we have a doctors appointment in 10 minutes or that we need to prepare dinner or that we actually really DO need to use the bathroom right now and not read 348209 books. Adults are jaded, spirits are squelched, routines are in place and the burning passion to learn had dwindled. Wow, thanks Anne, it's kind of depressing when you put it that way, but it is true.
When was the last time you painstakingly studied an object of which you had no idea how to use? When is the last time you delved into a new field of study head first and ready to learn? Can you even remember the last time you stopped and looked up at the clouds or the moon? I can, but that is only because I have a very determined two year old reminding me all day every day to slow down, just SLOW DOWN!!
Sure, life happens and there are actually a lot of things that do need to get done as adults, but when you take the time to slow down and examine what is really important and what can wait, you make room for bunnies in the clouds and airplanes flying by. You actually watch the interesting garbage truck lift your can. You slow down and explain how food is cooked and how you mix ingredients to make muffins. In short, you LIVE! Toddler are the most epic lovers of life out there; it's us adults that really don't get it.
P.S. I have already told Cache to hurry up in one form or another like 3289 times today, BUT I have resisted at least twice as many times. Baby steps friends, baby steps.
Comments
Post a Comment