[Week Mission Possible: Day Two]
Mondays. Working from home. New game plan. I'm no longer in denial that I cannot get much work done when Penny is awake. So, rather than kid myself trying to watch my daughter and work at the same time (nobody wins), Penny gets my full undivided attention and we do fun things while she's awake... then theoretically she naps great so I can work like a beast.
Today, this was a smashing success.
But that's not what I wanted to blog about tonight.
During one of my aforementioned "do fun things" attempts, we found ourselves at this local play place for an hour and a half this afternoon after lunch and between naps. We practically had the whole place to ourselves, except for a mom with 14-month-old twins + a 4-year-old who left soon after we arrived, then later a woman with her 18-month-old granddaughter and 2-and-a-half-year-old grandson... who also happened to be potty training.
I should preface all this with the fact that I have never potty trained a kid. I have no idea what's in store, all the methods... how hard it can be... how to handle it when your (grand)kid has an accident in a public place where other children are playing...
Catch my drift.
I felt so bad for this woman. She handled it very gracefully, gently yet sternly carrying a confused and embarrassed little guy to the bathroom as pee trickled down his leg and onto the floor and all the toys in their path. I watched and my heart went out to her...
But I didn't have any urge at all to help clean it up. Is that bad? Am I a horrible person? Should I have grabbed some baby wipes? I wanted to want to help. But I also wanted to just go play in another area, or pretend I didn't see the whole thing go down.
Maybe this is an unconscious insecurity of mine that I will be a failure at potty training my children and they will all wear diapers to kindergarten. Maybe I feared it was foreshadowing for me and Penny in 18 months.
[I did offer to watch the 18-month-old while she handled it]
It might seem small but I've really been thinking about this incident all afternoon. Was she embarrassed? Did she think I was judging her because I didn't offer to help? I hope neither.
Anway, Penny and I had a wonderful time playing in a nice, clean (before the pee), air-conditioned space and burning some energy. And the woman and I had a very nice chat about life while the children played.
But that's not what I wanted to blog about tonight.
During one of my aforementioned "do fun things" attempts, we found ourselves at this local play place for an hour and a half this afternoon after lunch and between naps. We practically had the whole place to ourselves, except for a mom with 14-month-old twins + a 4-year-old who left soon after we arrived, then later a woman with her 18-month-old granddaughter and 2-and-a-half-year-old grandson... who also happened to be potty training.
I should preface all this with the fact that I have never potty trained a kid. I have no idea what's in store, all the methods... how hard it can be... how to handle it when your (grand)kid has an accident in a public place where other children are playing...
Catch my drift.
I felt so bad for this woman. She handled it very gracefully, gently yet sternly carrying a confused and embarrassed little guy to the bathroom as pee trickled down his leg and onto the floor and all the toys in their path. I watched and my heart went out to her...
But I didn't have any urge at all to help clean it up. Is that bad? Am I a horrible person? Should I have grabbed some baby wipes? I wanted to want to help. But I also wanted to just go play in another area, or pretend I didn't see the whole thing go down.
Maybe this is an unconscious insecurity of mine that I will be a failure at potty training my children and they will all wear diapers to kindergarten. Maybe I feared it was foreshadowing for me and Penny in 18 months.
[I did offer to watch the 18-month-old while she handled it]
It might seem small but I've really been thinking about this incident all afternoon. Was she embarrassed? Did she think I was judging her because I didn't offer to help? I hope neither.
Anway, Penny and I had a wonderful time playing in a nice, clean (before the pee), air-conditioned space and burning some energy. And the woman and I had a very nice chat about life while the children played.
My second day of being a pseudo-single mom went off without a hitch. There are no dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and we even went for a long walk for some fresh air and exercise before dinner. We facetimed with daddy and nobody cried. Penny was asleep by 8:45pm. I kind of feel like supermom.
One great thing about today:
We went to the park this evening and Penny tried the swings for the first time. I wouldn't say she liked it, but a first nonetheless. At only 96 degrees, it was really a lovely evening for the park. We are so blessed to live in a neighborhood that has abundance of parks and fields and paths. Hashtag Agritopia.
We went to the park this evening and Penny tried the swings for the first time. I wouldn't say she liked it, but a first nonetheless. At only 96 degrees, it was really a lovely evening for the park. We are so blessed to live in a neighborhood that has abundance of parks and fields and paths. Hashtag Agritopia.
In other news... it's been a year exactly since I hit "publish" on our birth story from the couch I was still sleeping on because I couldn't lay flat on the bed yet. Serious stuff. Seriously incredible that it's been a year. I can't get over it...
