Helicopter parent

Those of you who taught with me at Timothy (or anywhere for that matter) are probably familiar with the term "helicopter parent". Used (at times with gritted teeth or perhaps a chortle or eye roll thrown in) to describe those parents who spend an excessive amount of time in or around their children's classrooms (and, therefore, their kids' school bizness), this phrase has been thrown around a lot in my vocabulary to describe one who might be the proverbial pain in my butt. (Sorry, parents.) Well, today, I had a breakthrough understanding of why helicopter parents hover the way they do. Vacation Bible School started at our church this week. J.J., being 3, is of an age when he can attend the preschool version. I dropped him off at church and just could not bring myself to leave (and, in my defense, was invited to stay - wink wink). So I stayed through the singing (which JJ ADORES - and his dancing is entirely too entertaining to miss) and still found I had to tear myself away. If I could have turned into that little fly on the wall that gets talked so much about, I most certainly would have. I wanted so badly to see how he would behave without me there and which social cues he's picking up on (or not). I had a mad urge to ask someone with a video camera to just plant themselves in his group for the day and shoot away so I wouldn't miss a second. And this just for a two-and-a-half hour event! My goodness, I just can't begin to imagine how crazy it must drive parents to have their child gone a majority of the day and to have no clue what is happening or, truly, how their child is behaving/speaking/learning, etc. So, first of all, my apologies to any parent to whom I may have referred as the helicopter variety. I completely understand now how much you want to know what's happening with your child when you're not there to monitor and help. When I came back to pick JJ up, I tried to get a full play-by-play from anyone who might have had insight into him that day. Luckily, at his age he's able to give me a report himself (albeit, fractured and somewhat fictional at times). It will be a good growing experience for both of us this week, I think. He will be learning to take instruction from others and what behaviors are and are not acceptable in these situations. Hopefully he'll learn to make some new friends, to share, to SIT (well, ok, we won't put expectations of miracles on these wonderful people). I will learn to start letting go and to trust my baby to others. And if you see a brunette thirty-something lurking around the windows of the church or school where my son might happen to be...I have an alibi.

31

Well, my birthday has come and gone, and in its wake I find myself.....a thirty-something. There was something about turning 30 last year that, while traumatic, still allowed me to hang on to some shred of my twenties. I'm not sure why I should care so much about crossing over into this decade. And really, on a daily basis, I don't. It's just something about that number that tells me time is marching onward, and sometimes, when I look back over my life I experience a variety of emotions about this fact. On the one hand, I am so grateful for God's faithfulness. I was raised by parents who were God-fearing and who I have been able to watch grow in their own faith over the years which has impacted me. I was blessed growing up by strong friendships (several of which continue to this day). I have an amazing extended family to which I feel very close and from which I have received and with which I share a heritage of faith. I am married to THE most amazing man - selfless, hilarious, thoughtful, compassionate. I have two adorable, loving, funny boys who we have the opportunity to watch grow and to mold and shape in the Lord's ways. Our daily needs are met. I have a circle of incredible, incredible (I just HAVE to say it twice) friends who all enrich my life in ways I can't even articulate. On the other hand, I feel that I have often squandered these blessings, abused them, taken them for granted. I feel that, as far as my faith journey goes, I should be so much "further along", given the gracious start in life I was given. SO - what does 31 mean to me? It means 31 years of history that make up my life. It means an unknown future that I entrust to the Lord. It means a year ahead of me in which I can experience each day as it comes and, God helping me, make each day filled with the fruit of His Spirit emanating from my life. And ultimately...it means just a number.

Having a ball in Holland!

Well, it was an amazing (and amazingly tiring) weekend up (down? over?) in Michigan with the fam and friends. We left Friday morning early since, much to our chagrin, James still had class scheduled for Thursday night. Friday was spent with Mom and Dad L., Brian and Keri (in visiting from Grand Cayman), and Rach - had a little cookout, then watched the fireworks at Kollen Park. Last year Jeran refused to either watch or listen to those sparkling bursts of wonder we "ooh and aah" over. This year, thankfully, after a few moments of doubt, he was all about them and quickly picked up the requisite oohing and aahing. Ben was a peach, as usual, and fell asleep moments before the festivities began. Which was just fine. It's always risky when you keep a kid up about 3 - plus hours past his bedtime.
Saturday was beach day!! I was so stoked to be back on a beach with CLEAN sand and without risk of shut-down due to high bacterial levels (Chicago is good for many things - a decent beach is not one of them). James left EARLY (5:45 a.m. early) to go fishing with some of his bros, nephew, and dad so I boldly pulled together all the beach gear I could possibly want and need, along with the two boys and trekked to the beach to meet up with Mom and the rest of the fam. We got a rock-star parking spot, and I am proud to say I lugged us all down to the beach without incident. Of course, the second we hit the sand I realize several errors I had made in my haste to begin our day of beachly fun.
Error #1: Upon awakening from a great 2 hour nap, I mistakenly take Ben's constant good nature as a sign that he can hold off on eating for now. Therefore I neglect to feed him at that time.
Error #2: I neglect to wrestle Jeran into swim diaper and suit and slather on the sunscreen BEFORE leaving the house.
Error #3: I do not read the directions for Ben's borrowed beach tent nor do I set it up (or lay out any towels for that matter) before taking the boys out of the stroller at the end of the "boardwalk".
These 3 errors resulted in a hairy first few moments at the Holland State Park. Thankfully, Mom and Keri showed up not five minutes after I had gotten there, to find me a stressed-out wreck with a hot, hungry, screaming baby and anxious-to-hit-the-water three-year-old running around half-naked. Following those first few moments of tension, however, it was a FAB-U-LOUS day. Perfect weather, unbeatable company...it was great. Jeran, the water rat, could not get enough, so I'm betting we'll be back as soon as possible. Ben was not as enchanted but remained a trooper (as did his daddy).
Saturday evening we were finally able to chill out with Mom and Dad G. following their motorcyle trip up to my aunt's cabin.
Today we pretty much were wiped out from the previous two days filled with fun. We were able to spend a short amount of time with some friends (from Chicago, no less!) at their condo on Lake Mac, but we were probably pretty deadbeat company at that point.
Tomorrow it's back home. James took the day off (hooray!) so we can mosey back. It's always a little bit hard to leave, but I'm grateful this time around that we've had such a long weekend here. When we visit, it's usually a whirlwind day and a half, so it was great to have 4 days to spend with our loved ones.

Hooray! Thanks for the tip. The blog is now much more pleasing to the eye. Background courtesy of the website Cutest Blog on the Block.
I am clearly into copying from other people's blogs and stumbled upon this counter. You'll notice it to the right. It will either uplift or destroy my ego - a risky little game. If all else fails I'll just keep logging into my own site to up the numbers. :) Just wanted to put it there for the sake of my curiosity.

I am addicted to variety. As you can tell if you have been following this blog and have seen the template change about 4 times. So if anyone out there actually stops by to read this and has ANY idea how I can access some more creative headings or backgrounds (other than what Blogger offers - sorry, Blogger) I would GREATLY appreciate your insight!