Every member of a family plays a role. In Kim's family, she is the baby. In my family, I am the talker. In our family, Madison is the athlete, McKenzie is the sensitive gymnast, and Morgan is uh ... the Morganator. Much to our surprise, Madison announced over the weekend that for the first time in her grade school career, she did not want to join the running club. What? We were shocked.
Madison is a fantastic runner with tremendous lower body strength. She is fast - super fast. I remember her yearbook from the 1st grade was filled with notes from friends about her speed and agility as a runner. Okay, first graders don't really use terms like speed and/or agility, but let's just say there are a lot of "You're a good runner" messages throughout the book. Maddie was thrilled to join the running club in kindergarten and anxiously awaited the announcement about running club in the first grade. So what happened in the second grade? Why didn't she want to join?
Please keep in mind that I am a mother and raised by a recovering Catholic, which means I naturally feel guilty about most situations. So when Madison says she doesn't want to join running club, I immediately think it has something to do with me and my body/food issues. Maddie is definitely the health fanatic in the family as well, bringing home very strong advice and opinions on food and exercise from her beloved PE coaches. God knows I need to listen to the advise and I have reached a place in my life where I can accept the input from my baby about an incredibly personal, often painful, issue in my life. So what if the second grade is the year Madison becomes body conscious and no longer wants to be the athlete? What if the second grade is the year Madison begins to gain weight? What if the second grade is the year Madison inherits my painful food/body/weight issues?
So what would Dr. Steve say in this situation? Dr. Steve would say parents have to show their children have to walk through the door. And this is what I did. I called one of the PE coaches yesterday to share with her Madison's hesitancy to join the running club. Her coach was just as surprised as we were and offered to seek Maddie out during the day to encourage her to join. Apparently, this worked because Madison and McKenzie attended the first running club yesterday. McKenzie made it around the track 11 times and Madison completed 7 laps! They smelled awful when they came home, but both had a wonderful time. We were thrilled!
I also decided showing Madison how to walk through the door, or how to honor her body, meant I needed to walk the children to school this morning, which I did. Actually, the girls ran and I walked. Don't worry Maddie says she still loves me even though I don't run as fast as they do. She also suggested I take a few laps around the track when they went into the school. "It is very good exercise, Mommy, and you might grow a little taller too." God bless her.
I would do anything for my children. And today it occurred to me as I huffed my way home from the school alone, I may just learn to take care of myself for the love of my girls.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
French Fries
Morgan likes french fries. Okay, Morgan LOVES french fries. We recently drove through Walgreen's to pick up a prescription. Morgan leans forward and screams "FRENCH FRIES" at the poor guy dispensing my prescription. After apologizing to the visibly startled employee, I try to explain to Morgan this is a different kind of drive through.
So imagine my surprise and HORROR today in McDonald's when Kim takes the big girls to the bathroom and I see Morgan climb into a booth with a black family and EAT THEIR FRENCH FRIES!! I could have died. Just died. I was trying to order lunch, pay for the meal, and keep an eye on the Morganator all at the same time. You'd think she hadn't eaten in days! Granted, the black family was rather shocked too.
I offered to buy them new french fries, but they really just wanted my child to leave their table as the clerk behind the counter is trying to complete my order and I am dragging the Morganator kicking and screaming away from her beloved french fries. I am sweating and panting at this point with Morgan under one arm and paying the bill with the other arm.
And then here comes Kim with Madison and McKenzie, leisurely walking back from the bathroom as the still startled black family is craning their necks to check out the bigger picture taking shape in the Elgin McDonald's. Our family maintained the top billing position as the freak show in McDonald's through the duration of lunch. I can't tell you how anxious I was to finish eating and get the hell out of dodge. The mere presence of the french fry victims kept me anxious and sweating. I prayed Morgan would quietly leave her favorite fast food establishment quietly, but NOOOOOO. I end up carrying her to the van over my shoulder (you get the best grip on a kid this way) after chasing her through the busy parking lot. The Morganator strikes again.
I realize she won't be 2 years old forever. I recognize I have survived the second year of life for 2 other children. I know it can be done, but God help us. The Morganator is giving us all a run for our money and proving to be true entertainment for the only McDonald's in Elgin, TX.
So imagine my surprise and HORROR today in McDonald's when Kim takes the big girls to the bathroom and I see Morgan climb into a booth with a black family and EAT THEIR FRENCH FRIES!! I could have died. Just died. I was trying to order lunch, pay for the meal, and keep an eye on the Morganator all at the same time. You'd think she hadn't eaten in days! Granted, the black family was rather shocked too.
I offered to buy them new french fries, but they really just wanted my child to leave their table as the clerk behind the counter is trying to complete my order and I am dragging the Morganator kicking and screaming away from her beloved french fries. I am sweating and panting at this point with Morgan under one arm and paying the bill with the other arm.
And then here comes Kim with Madison and McKenzie, leisurely walking back from the bathroom as the still startled black family is craning their necks to check out the bigger picture taking shape in the Elgin McDonald's. Our family maintained the top billing position as the freak show in McDonald's through the duration of lunch. I can't tell you how anxious I was to finish eating and get the hell out of dodge. The mere presence of the french fry victims kept me anxious and sweating. I prayed Morgan would quietly leave her favorite fast food establishment quietly, but NOOOOOO. I end up carrying her to the van over my shoulder (you get the best grip on a kid this way) after chasing her through the busy parking lot. The Morganator strikes again.
I realize she won't be 2 years old forever. I recognize I have survived the second year of life for 2 other children. I know it can be done, but God help us. The Morganator is giving us all a run for our money and proving to be true entertainment for the only McDonald's in Elgin, TX.
October
I love the month of October! I love the cooler temps, the colors of Fall, and the festivals. Keep in mind I live in Texas so when I say cooler temps, I mean I it is below 90 degrees. And there is some change in color too, though not necessarily in the trees but definitely in our wardrobe. October brings about a mental change that I look forward to every year and this year has not disappointed. This is definitely one of my favorite months of the year.
Last weekend we visited the State Fair of Texas, which is enormous! I totally underestimated the volume of people attending the fair on Columbus Day. We spent more time getting through the crowds than we actually did on the rides or playing games or partaking in some classic fair food. My dear sweet best friend, Julie, who lives in the Dallas area, was such a trooper to go with us. She hates crowds and I never heard a single complaint. Of course, I wasn't in their car on the ride home so her husband may have an entirely different take.
The girls adored the petting zoo, while the adults were frantically searching for Xanax just to make it through. There had to be a minimum of a million people in the petting zoo! I have never seen anything so crazy, but we wanted the kids to see the animals. Morgan went nuts for the zebra and giraffe. Madison and McKenzie loved the piglets and the ostrich like animal. Maybe it was an emu. I'm not exactly sure.
And yes, we did discover the daredevils in the family. McKenzie takes top billing in this category, followed closely by Madison. They insisted on riding the scariest rides, as evidenced below. I could hardly breathe the entire time they were in the air. Madison looked relieved to return to the ground, while McKenzie was begging for more. Fortunately, we ran out of tickets shortly after this ride.
Today we took the kids to the Elgin Pumpkin Festival and had a wonderful time! I am a sucker for blue skies, white puffy clouds, and not-hot temperatures. While it was warmer than I expected, we had a great time and took a million pictures. Here are just a few.
Last weekend we visited the State Fair of Texas, which is enormous! I totally underestimated the volume of people attending the fair on Columbus Day. We spent more time getting through the crowds than we actually did on the rides or playing games or partaking in some classic fair food. My dear sweet best friend, Julie, who lives in the Dallas area, was such a trooper to go with us. She hates crowds and I never heard a single complaint. Of course, I wasn't in their car on the ride home so her husband may have an entirely different take.
The girls adored the petting zoo, while the adults were frantically searching for Xanax just to make it through. There had to be a minimum of a million people in the petting zoo! I have never seen anything so crazy, but we wanted the kids to see the animals. Morgan went nuts for the zebra and giraffe. Madison and McKenzie loved the piglets and the ostrich like animal. Maybe it was an emu. I'm not exactly sure.
And yes, we did discover the daredevils in the family. McKenzie takes top billing in this category, followed closely by Madison. They insisted on riding the scariest rides, as evidenced below. I could hardly breathe the entire time they were in the air. Madison looked relieved to return to the ground, while McKenzie was begging for more. Fortunately, we ran out of tickets shortly after this ride.
Today we took the kids to the Elgin Pumpkin Festival and had a wonderful time! I am a sucker for blue skies, white puffy clouds, and not-hot temperatures. While it was warmer than I expected, we had a great time and took a million pictures. Here are just a few.
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