Ruminations on Parenting

I ate most of my lunch with a baby spoon today, which got me thinking about what I've become really good at doing since I've had kids...thought I'd put it out here and see what else you, dear readers, can add to this list.

• Resourcefulness: This morning I was late, the dishwasher was dirty, and all that was clean in the silverware drawer were baby spoons. I'm glad no one saw me eat lunch today. For full effect, I may have airplane-sounded a bite. 
• Bribery: I know my kids love me, but I'll be damned if I can't get them to leave day care. I pick them up and it's like I'm dragging them to a doctor's office full of needles. "Nooooooo!!!!" is generally what I'm met with. My secret weapon is candy. I'm not ashamed to tell you my kids eat candy at least once a day. Sometimes m&ms; sometimes dum dum lollipops; Will often gets sugar-free gum; and sometimes, you know...they have all three!! 
• Peace Making: Oh, you both want the Batman action figure? No worries...we have FOUR. And we have two super hero capes, two super hero masks, multiple dump trucks in a variety of sizes, three Batman vehicles, three copies of Green Eggs and Ham, two tambourines, two harmonicas, four maracas, two drums, and two sets of fake food and dishes for the play kitchen. Oh, you both want the ONE random yo-yo at the bottom of the toy chest that no one has played with in months? You're on your own. It's good for you.
• Acting: I've read the superhero anthology so many times I could sing it in Italian, opera style in my sleep. For some reason, the villains always have deep voices, and I give the super heroes high-pitched voices--like they just sucked the helium from a balloon. I've decided this is an accurate portrayal. Have you read the super hero background stories? They are generally whiny little things before they become superheroes, and then in the process they are usually pumped full of so many radioactive chemicals it's a wonder they even have skin! High-pitched and whiny it is. 
• Operating like a well-oiled machine: This would include multi-tasking. I can fold a shirt and wash a kid's hair at the same time. I can run, push a jogging stroller, unwrap a lollipop (that's right, my kids get candy when we run, too), and find Scooby-Doo on YouTube all a the same time. I can cook mac and cheese with one hand while the other holds someone, pulls someone out of a cabinet, opens juice boxes, etc. Before dinner is even served I get out all of the various options I know will be requested: ketchup, applesauce, yogurt, ranch dip. Just line 'em up. They'll be asked for when they cry out "but I don't LIKE tacos!" even though they ate them no problem last week. That's right. Tacos. Two weeks in a row. 
• Feeling guilty: This one I'm not proud of but I feel it multiple times a day: I should have said this differently, I should not have said that, why did I react that way, I've messed him up for life, his therapist will help him through that when he's 30, why wasn't I there...

We are all doing our absolute best with our kids...with ourselves...at any given moment in time. We've even acquired new skills along the way, brains working in overdrive with all of the new things to think about. 

This video has been circulating lately, but I thought I'd post it here. 

Remember your talents, your newly acquired skills, the good stuff--your kids (and mine, too) so appreciate what we do.

(I hope they remember that tonight when we trick-or-treat in a monsoon.) 

Happy Halloween.