Being home with my toddler for nine weeks was such an amazing time. After getting his ear tubes, Sweet Boy’s vocabulary exploded. He loved stories and he really loved his First 100 words book
We had an apartment across from the town beach and we would play in his over-sized sandbox a few mornings every week. I didn’t take him when it was busy though because I was appalled by some of the music the younger parents played for their kids. With his vocabulary exploding, I really didn’t want him learning words like booty or effing or anything like that. Does that make me old? Maybe.
Feeling old
One day a week we would try one of the local children’s museums. I listened to the younger moms, but I didn’t really talk with them. They always looked so perfect. Nails done, hair free of grays. It had been so long since my last manicure or dye job, I felt completely out of place. I was blessed with younger looking skin (Thanks, Mom and Gram), so I didn’t get asked the “Grandmother” question (yet), but I just felt like my priorities were different.
Maybe those younger girls had well-off families. Maybe they weren’t starting over financially after moving for love. And just maybe they were just really good with a bottle of nail polish. But I always felt out of place. So I played with my son instead of interacting with the other moms. Sometimes I wonder if I was doing him a disservice by not encouraging him to play with the other kids more, but I can’t change that now.
Family Time in Our Perfect Summer
Weekends were time for family outings. We visited my siblings and their kids. We went hiking or to scout camp with my husband. And we took Sweet Boy to the baseball field and made his very first baseball card. It was such a perfect summer for the three of us.
As Sweet Boy started sleeping more and we started sharing some of our favorite things with the young one, we grew more confident and comfortable as parents. So we decided that it was time for #2.
Photo by Ryan Polei | www.ryanpolei.com 