Monday, June 29, 2009

Lie Like Broccoli

If it we had the summer schedule all year long, I think that I would be the most chill mama ever. Today Lily spilled yogurt all over the floor and instead of silently screaming in my head, I just handed her paper towels and taught her how to clean it up neatly. We have no schedule, no time constraints, the world really is our oyster!

I'd like to say that with this new found time, our house is immaculate, like something out of Good Housekeeping. Nope, I'm the same slacker housekeeper. There are about five baskets of unfolded laundry behind me as I type. I'd like to say that some major educatioanl enrichment is going on here. Nope, not really. We are all reading like crazy, but it's because that's what we like to do. We are still watching TV and have developed a fondness for silly obstacle course type shows (Wipeout, Super Stars). What we are doing is "lying like broccoli" or to use Caroline's term "chillaxin'".

But this chilled out state of mind makes it so much easier to manage my two alien children. One is morphing into a teen. This is a scary and frustrating process. Most sentences now begin with "God, Moomm," and end with an eye roll, teeth sucking or some sort of smart ass remark that secretly makes me proud of her budding humor level. I can simply look at her and calmly say "watch it" or "that's it you're grounded" without rising to her bait or engaging in a yelling contest. Boy, if only I could do this all year.

My other child, I can enjoy with minimal frustration. I don't mind chasing her down at the pool as she darts around wearing her towel like a cape and yelling "Super Lily! Falling ceases!" (guess what old timey phrase I tried to use to clam her down first?) I can catch her and put her in time out without running my hand frantically through my hair or deep breathing. I can even walk into the living room and watch her leap from the couch into an over turned rocking chair that she has laced through with shoe laces (she was making cargo netting). I can then calmly explain that obstacle courses are for outside and she could have crashed through the french door and been hurt. I can even answer her 50 questions about when each and everything was invented (her standard reply is the 1920's).

I have the time to pause and look at my leggy tanned girls and notice that all their baby fat is disappearing. I can breathe in the intoxicating smell of sunscreen, chlorine, and warm kid. All in all this is the best start to a summer in quite a while.

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