Oh, Children
Maya was crying really hard last night because she wants to be a baby again, “Yena and Yiberty were nice to me when I yas a baaaayyyybeeeeee!” *sob* I’m going to stop letting her watch home videos. Or, I should make her watch recent home videos where it appears that Lena and Liberty are much nicer to her than they are in real life. She doesn’t quite understand that I learned from my sister to turn the video camera off before all hell breaks loose. That way, when the kids are grown and they have complaints I can say, “Let’s go to the tape!” and they won’t be able to prove anything. For the record, Lena and Liberty are plenty nice to her as it is. I’m not really sure what that was all about last night, but I’m sure there’s some 4 1/2 year old thing going on. It did come on the heels of a park day where Maya played with some friends for about 2 hours without ever checking in with me. Or, maybe it’s because I suggested she could wipe her own butt from time to time. I don’t know. Anyway, we cuddled and cuddled and looked at her baby book while she pointed to all the things that she misses about being a baby. These things include, but are not limited to: being born, having Daddy cut her umbilical cord, floating in the midwife’s lovely herbal bath, being dressed in her first outfit, being carried in a sling, wearing a diaper, eating pureed carrots, and of course nursing. She also mentioned with contempt that nobody ever helps her get dressed. I resisted the urge to point out that the only time she ever allowed me to help her get dressed was when her brain was more comparable to a slug’s. Once she found out that she had control over her own arms and legs, if I so much as came into the room where she was getting dressed, she would screech at me in such a way that there was no mistaking that if I tried to help her, she would find a way to kill me. So we cuddled, she slept in my bed (as usual, but without first falling asleep in the bedroom that she shares with her sisters), I rubbed her back, and I didn’t point out all of the things she can do now that she’s big because it seemed like she needed to vent and it didn’t seem like I would be able to convince her that it’s better to be big because, really, it probably isn’t. *sigh*
Lena and Liberty also had a little flash of, “Hey, why don’t you mother us better?” yesterday. Thursday was homeschool gym day and I look at homeschool gym as a class, not a spectator event, so I don’t go into the loud, loud, poorly lit gym to watch. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just because I like to talk to my friends out in the halls. It’s also because it’s a class. I don’t watch them do their beading class. Or pottery. Or art. I was informed yesterday at dinner that this is unjust and will not be tolerated any longer. Fine. Fine! I said it was fine. I will watch homeschool gym (sporadically) from now on, I promise.
No matter, I’m still riding high on the wave of pride induced by the fact that after gym yesterday, Lena and Liberty were looking through a box of freebies that another homeschool mom brought in for all of us to go through. There were some books and a bunch of VHS tapes, but Lena and Liberty both grabbed for the Monty Python and the Holy Grail tape. In my family, we enjoy this kind of thing, so seeing them fight over that tape was akin to the pride I feel when I’m told they look like me. They watched that movie once a long time ago and they remembered the black night saying “It’s just a flesh wound,” after losing his arms, and the fact that everybody’s running around pretending to ride horses. I’m pretty sure a little tear fell from eye when I overheard their reminiscing. Watching it this time, though, was a whole new thing for them because they couldn’t read the first time they watched it. The opening credits had them rolling with laughter. “A moose once bit my sister,” hahahahahaha! Again, I say *sigh*
April 11th, 2008 at 10:55 am
And THAT my friend is when sharing your genes turns out to be an advantage. My kids love Holy Grail, too. When they were little — we were still living in Oklahoma, so Eldest was probably 3 or 4, wait that means Middling was not even 2, so that can’t be right — anyway, when they were small, but old enough to understand a bit of funny, they laughed and laughed at the part during the Camelot song when the guy hanging in the dungeon is clapping. They made me rewind that part over and over. Monty Python — funny at 2, funny at 22, funny at 42. Of course, we had to fast forward through that boring bit about Galahad and the maidens in the Castle Anthrax.
I am so ready for the wiping of the own butt. And the dressing of oneself would be nice, too.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Yeah, the castle maidens part is tricky. The girls just thought they were really weird from being locked up and were like, “Who would want a spanking?!?”
April 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Are you sure Maya’s not adopted? Because all signs (except for the birth story) would point to yes. And Lucia, too. Erica and I realized that her behavior points to adoption.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Dawn, I’ll check, but I think that’s one of those things that actually can be proven by watching home videos. I’m pretty sure I saw a video where she came right out of me. I’ll have to double check, though.
tee hee
April 11th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
“floating in the midwife’s lovely herbal bath” I think I reread this sentence about three times…because I kept seeing “tea” instead of “bath” and kept thinking “What the F$$k?” - Glad to not have the image of a baby dunked in tea that someone would drink later…me thinks me needest to slow down whilest me readest! Good grief.
We are planning to adopt again (not sure if this is a good thing or if I should be committed) and I need to keep sibling behavior in mind….I have a feeling I’m going to be re-living a lot of the stuff that happened between my sister and I…like when I would terrorize her by playing dead until she blew talcum powder up my nose. Then again…sharing (and fighting over) movies we liked is something we still do along w/ our mom so there’s the silver lining.
No more dunking babies in tea ok!
April 11th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
oh please - if ever you needed proof of good mothering, you found it when they found that tape. go, you!
April 12th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Abby, I love it all! Motherhood, childhood are all so universal. I read your stories and remember mine. I am one of those people who tends to forget everything, or tries to, LOL. I had forgotten that at least on of my children wanted to be a baby again, quite often. Glad he got over that, LOL.
April 12th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Wait! Your kids sometimes wipe their own butts? You are one lucky mama.
April 12th, 2008 at 11:56 am
python is the modern mother goose
April 14th, 2008 at 8:44 am
I agree with Amazon midwife. And Abby, you are such a great mother!!