Nothing like a good trip out into the world after work hours to get a good example of families with the noun kind of parents. There was a kid, looked to be about 18 months, playing with an exterior outlet box, not one adult with in 15 ft, and he played for way longer than I felt comfortable with. Moms with strollers were pushing through people and not saying please or thank you, like bumper cars. Moms and Dads who were acting as if just being there was an imposition and that their children annoyed them to the point that they were martyrs.
Yuck. My kid annoys me sometimes, usually in public, but these people were so disconnected from their children. It was sad.
This got me thinking about all the things I do with Lil'Bug. When she tires me out, do I behave that way? I hope not. She was extra cranky this week, but we still ventured out. It was a challenge but I think it benefited us both to get back to our activities.
Things we did this week (Friday-Thursday): Pond Study, IMAX Amazing Caves (my first ever IMAX movie), Sci Center IA, swimming "lessons", library, shopping, 4 art sessions, a park explore hike, baked cookies/treats 4 times, took dog to groomer, ISU bug zoo (2nd trip to Sci Center), and a lot of reading time. We didn't do as much because we had a mother's helper and I was grading finals so we were at home more than is usual. Are other people this busy?
Parent is a verb in our home, as in we parent our child. Normally the verbing of nouns annoys me to no end, but in this and several other related cases, it fits. We school at home, we parent, and we learn. Our learning comes from everything and so do our opportunities to parent. We don't just show up at things, we are present.
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A blog about farming, unschooling, feminism, 22q deletion syndrome, cooking real food, homesteading, permaculture, and motherhood.