Jonah has penned his very first Periodic Table joke:
What did fluoride say to fluorine?
-- "You're overreacting!"
Because,of course, fluorine reacts (as in "ka-boom!") in water, and fluoride does not. That boy kills me.
Nate's current funny was more of the parent-mortifying variety. The assignment was to page through an encyclopedia of ancient civilizations and place post-it's with comments next to interesting facts. "Oh, wine!" Nate wrote next to a picture from ancient Rome. "We love wine! We drink it all the time!"
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March 2013
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Science Is (Keepin' It) Real
Weekend learning is all the rage for the boys, who spent parts of three weekends at two science museums, a space and science center, and an old-growth redwood forest:
Back from Vacation
The family is back from a great week in Mexico -- as Nate and Jonah reminded us about ten thousand times, their first trip out of the country. When you leave the country, you spend ten hours a day in the water, two hours eating, and two hours playing Magic: the Gathering. Thus the prevalence of the pool in these pictures:
We Have a New Camera
Proof:
Today Was A Good Day
Today was a Wednesday. If Ten Years Ago Me (the one with no kids) could have peeped a glimpse of our day, I'm sure it would have seemed like the most unremarkable series of events imaginable: a quick appointment before school, school, homework/dinner, swim lesson, bed. As far the parenting experience goes, May 30 would not have looked like a day for the brochure.
On the other hand, if Five Years Ago Me (the one living with relentless anxiety about what was going on with her beloved three year old) could have seen my date book, she would have dreaded what looked like one nightmare after the next: an orthodontist appointment for a boy who could not tolerate anyone touching his mouth (so much so that he had recently forced the fancy Beverly Hills pediatric dentist to quit saying that she had never had a patient she couldn't eventually tame); a 6.5 hour school day for a kid who hated his 3 hours of play-based preschool; a swim lesson for a guy who refused to go near the pool and became hysterical if anyone suggested he blow some bubbles in the water. To her, this also would not have looked like a day to remember in any kind of good way.
But as it turned out, 2012 Me can't stop thinking about what an extraordinary ordinary day it turned out to be. We began with a 7:50 orthodontist appointment, where Nate tolerated the entire examination so perfectly that one would never imagine that he'd ever had an oral sensitivity issue (let alone one so serious that he had to go under general anesthesia at Children's Hospital in first grade just to have his first cavity filled). So while it was great to hear that Nate's overcrowding and giant upper-lower teeth gap issues have miraculously resolved themselves (thus allowing us to avoid stage one braces), the big deal for me was having an orthodontist appointment be just a minor inconvenience rather than a major trauma. It's not every day that you get to have a Huge Parenting Moment before 8 a.m.
Next, we left for school from the doctor's at 8 instead of our usual 7:40, and we had to take the dreaded Heavy Traffic Freeway by his office instead of our normal route. While Nate was eager to advise me on all things driving ("If you go a little faster, Mom, you can probably make this light," "You should probably switch to the right lane here, since you'll be getting on the freeway soon," and "Do you want to call my school to let them know I might be late?" were all uttered in the first 90 seconds), he remained calm and composed throughout, even though we went through traffic that would have had him screaming and crying this time last year. He's not 100% cured of his traffic phobia, but he's pretty darned close. I cannot stress enough the difference this makes in everyone's daily happiness level.
Fact: I still got them to school ten minutes before the bell. Question: Will either of them remember to thank their driver?
In the middle of the day, I popped into Nate's class for my usual Wednesday math volunteer hour. Normally I work with the other kids while Nate does his own Nate math thing, but now that I'm home schooling his math myself (surprise!), we decided together that we would do his lesson while I was at school today. So we did this complicated thing involving high index radicals with variables, which I will not bore either of my readers with, and while Nate and I sat in a quiet nook in the room, we talked through the lesson and problems together. As recently as last fall, Nate wouldn't talk at all at school other than to answer a question in class. If I or another kid tried to casually talk to him, he would literally cover his mouth with his hand and only shake or nod his head. If he absolutely had to speak, he would whisper. But today there he sat, working through problems out loud. He was maybe even a little too loud. As a bonus, he insisted that two of the problems were too hard, and then, right before my eyes, his whole body snapped to attention when he suddenly figured out how to do them and then finished them at lightning speed. TWICE. And after he finished, he joined me in helping his classmates with their work. That part was freaking adorable.
After school, a very cute girl in his class insisted on hugging him before he left, as she always does (have I mentioned that I love this girl?). Nate refused, as he always does. He did not, however, seem to mind as much as his words suggested.
After dinner, we were off to swimming. Nate, who at this time last year would still freak out about putting his head underwater (after four years of lessons), jumped in and swam the length of the pool many, many times. He voluntarily swam to the bottom of the pool to get the shark toy (ok, in the shallow end, but still). And he had a great time. 2012 Me is the only parent at Coach Tim's pool who sits by the side watching the whole lesson intently, grinning like an idiot, instead of texting.
Finally, we ended the day with both guys' favorite DVD, Look Around You. The guys laughed hysterically, all snuggled together in my bed. I read a Ramona Quimby book to Jonah; Nate, who is not known for his love of literature, tried to hide the fact that he was listening but made enough comments to make it clear that he was as into the story as Jonah.
2012 Me would love to send a few messages back in time. You really, really can't imagine, I would say to both earlier versions of myself, how many ways there are to experience a day, and how grateful you can feel for the most mundane things. Sometimes it's just nice to take a moment and realize how very far we've come. I can't wait to see what 2017 Me will have to report.
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