Today was for a mini-hang with Nu. There was tiramisu and samosas... And I found the perfect white tee for them to tie-dye to wear to senior sunrise...
But our big thing was finding the circuit court so we could file the papers for their name change. I'd meticulously filled out the forms as a present for their 16th birthday, but we'd never gotten around to actually filing it at the court. The clerk and Nu were very impressed that I'd done all the paperwork without a lawyer. Impressing my 16-year-old isn't easy, and I'll take this win. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. My darling deserves some softness in their life.
My sister, who is childfree, noted that parenting seems fraught with worry. If you're not worrying about nursing or toddler milestones, you're worrying about school, health, education, employment, relationships, or some combination of the above or something else entirely, no? Or is it just me? Like, I loved, loved, loved my day with At yesterday, but there was an underlying sadness about how hard their life is. Although, if I think about it, I guess I too was poor at 25 when I was in grad school? Anyway...
Pic: I rounded off the day at EM's birthday party. All she wanted in lieu of presents were donations to the Refugee Development Center, so I added a printout of the poem I'd written for her. She doesn't swear that much, so I took it as a compliment when she texted late at night to say "I almost cried when I read the poem. I love it so fucking much."
14 comments:
Congrats to Nu on the name change and congrats to you on doing all the paperwork!
Parenting is a lot of worry for sure; the joy and love balance it out but, as my elderly male doctor said when I was pregnant with Mark and worried about everything: "Well, you never stop worrying about your kids." Mostly though I try to remember what things were like when I was their age, and I think how different a life my kids have, how different a parent I am from my own parents.
I never heard of senior sunrise until North's school did it. (Noah went to a different high school or maybe he chose not to participate.) I didn't know it was a widespread thing.
Oh god, the worry. It's never-ending.
p.s. Beth handled the paperwork for North's name change. I was too sad about losing their old name to do it.
Wow- you're a good mom. I remember when my kids were little, people said "Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems." That annoyed me- like, I thought the infant and toddler problems WERE big problems. Now I look back and long for those days, when a "big" problem was I couldn't get them to take a nap, or we skipped a night of tooth brushing. HA. Yes- you never stop worrying.
Like Jenny, I had the same feelings about that saying and hearing it when feeling overwhelmed with new baby concerns and toddler challenges. I could hardly wait until Jared and Sam were able to tell me what they wanted or what hurt; to feed themselves or to entertain themselves. Then, on their first days of school, I was heartbroken because now they didn't just belong to me, now they belonged to the world. It seemed to happen So Fast--and then everything else did too--at breakneck speed.
(I still wonder how the hell I did it all AND taught at a large urban high school. I think I was a little bit of a superhero.)
You are an amazing parent, Nicole. My parents were amazingly patient with me... that's something to channel...
I knew I'd heard you mention it too, Steph. Yep... the worry...
I'm sorry, Steph... it's certainly a big adjustment. Somehow we were a part of the new name process, so that made it a bit easier, I think.
If only we knew, we'd be LONGING for a toddler tantrum, Jenny! LOL
At least this part is simple, Nance--you ARE a superhero! (And I agree about things going way too fast. I watched the show Parenthood with my mom, and both of us cried at the end when the mom/grandmom on the show remarked how quickly life goes. It seems like just yesterday sometimes that our babies were soft and portable...)
Congratulations to Nu on their name change. And yes, parenthood is worry x100. My kids are 4 and 6 and already- already! - I am worrying when they are12, 15, 18, 21, 45, 55 you name it.
Aw, Daria! I wish I could say it gets easier... but the thing is we will always know better and they will always want to find their own way :)
Yay for doing boring bureaucratic paperwork!
So, here's some perspective. When you were 25, did you think your life was hard? Or did you think it was one great adventure? Because sure sometimes I had to make choices about groceries when I was 25, but they were MY choices and everything was new and exciting. So maybe At just feels like everything is just the way it should be!
Engie--Thank you for this! Yes! At seems to be enjoying being 25! I can be happy for for that.
Post a Comment