This summer we have decided to implement a summer excursion jar.  While this sounds like a fun way to keep my boys entertained this summer, there is a greater purpose behind the jar…..our summer homework. 

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I live in a community where kids enroll in sports as soon as they are potty trained.  Parents who are not hazed into sports after diapers are frowned upon.   If a parent cracks under the pressure (yes I succumbed…) to enroll their young child, one sport per season is not enough.  Yes apparently by enrolling our child in multiple sports at once, we are allowing them to choose their professional sporting career by age 6.  Following the trend while we were still too naïve to know what awaited us, we started playing soccer at age 4.

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Mother’s day is officially my favorite holiday of the year.  It ranks higher than my birthday. Everyone gets a birthday, but not everyone gets to celebrate mother’s day as a mother.   I feel incredibly blessed to have two great kids who call me mom.   Someone once told me that you cannot comprehend the joy of motherhood until you become a mother.   It is true, while motherhood has brought me many ups and downs, many days of exhaustion, and a new appreciation for wine, I could not imagine my life not as a mother.

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Today I had a new experience as a mother. I watched my son have a horrible wipe out on his bicycle.  In a few short seconds of him riding past me on the sidewalk, he took a turn too sharp and fell off his bike and onto his chin.  At first, I thought his mouth was bleeding and he maybe lost a tooth.

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My 7-year old could benefit from some organizational seminars.  Unfortunately, these types of courses are only targeted for grown-ups.  As his mother, I had two choices.  I could continue to get frustrated at his lack of organization and prepare myself for the constant battles ahead or I could take action.   As I probably would not have made it until his 8^th birthday without blowing a gasket, I chose to take action.

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I started reading to both my boys when they were old enough to hold up their heads. I have fond memories of sitting in the rocking chair with a pile of board books and their little chubby fingers touching all of the fuzzy pictures.

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When my 7-year-old son was just a toddler, he would hold his bottle or sippy cup out of the side of his mouth.  I did not notice it was habit-forming until people started to ask me about it.  Once I was aware of it, I realized it was the only way he held his cup.

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Our spring break vacation this year fell during Passover.  As we were travelling, we went into vacation mode and were not planning on keeping Passover, let alone participating in it. While we do partake in an annual family Seder every year during Passover at home, we had no plans to attend one on vacation.  This all changed once we were invited to a cousin’s house that lived in the area. 

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Relationships are hard. Marriage is hard. Having two children ages 4 and 7 can put one’s marriage in a serious predicament.  My husband and I had 4 years together of wedded bliss before our first son was born.  We lived in the city and took advantage of our location. We walked to great restaurants, theaters, and shops. Once our first son was born, we modified our lifestyle a bit, but it was still easy to manage one child and spend time together.

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It seemed like a great gig.  I worked from home and still was able to volunteer in my son’s classroom. I was bringing home a paycheck and could sit at my desk in my pajamas. I had an amazing babysitter who loved my babies as much as I did and I trusted her completely.  I kept telling myself I should have been grateful for having this opportunity and the flexibility.  So why was I so unhappy?

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A friend recently recommended the book “Smart but Scattered” [i] for my 7-year-old son.   I was a little disappointed, not because of the recommendation, but because this title was already taken. My 7-year-old is definitely smart and extremely scattered (can that be a real title some day with no evidence of plagiarism??).  

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In all of my 7 years as a parent, my most difficult challenge has been my son’s relationship with his bathroom habits.

Ever since graduating the diaper stage, he has caused me many years of anxiety in this particular area.

Any mother of young boys understands the bathroom in general can be cause for a lot of yelling and cursing.  

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