Five Favorite "Decemberings" - Part 1 - The Swing

Dear ones,
It's been six weeks again since my last post. A new pattern must be starting. I don't want to talk about it really, except to say that I truly hope you believe me when I say that in my world six weeks really does feel like one week. So if that's true, I'm doing pretty good, eh?

I thought the best way to approach this gap I've created here was a list. I was going to just give you five pictures and five captions. But then something else happened. I kept going on and on about this one little thing that's not going to be a big deal to anyone but me. Nevertheless, I'll just do an expanded version of a list and call it my Five Favorite Decemberings (December Things), Parts 1-5.

Part 1 - The Swing

One day outside, just Peyton and me, I was piddling around the yard picking up dog poo and plastic stuff left about by the young'uns. I had seen P run over in the direction of the swing set but didn't pay much attention after that. I piddled some more, not really looking around me too much, you know, your typical tunnel-visioned-mother who's happy three minutes just went by without anyone needing her. Well, finally the tunnel ended and I squinted over to check on my babe. 

And what to my wondering eyes should appear? 

But my little girl swinging HERSELF...without me near!

Let me help you to appreciate this: This child has tried every thing to swing herself. This mother has tried every thing to get her to just feeel the rhythm of it. And then, on this day a couple weeks ago, I just looked over and found her up, up in the air all by herself, and having done so without a word to me about it. As if--as if she's always done it. What I mean to say is...how long was I in the poop tunnel? 

I just about fell over in my own excitement. She played it cool, like what's up Ma? I said something like, "Child! What in the world--? How long have you--? How did you--? What's your secret??" Was it that she finally understood what I meant all this time by just feeling the lean, reaching forward, pulling back?


She said, "No Mom. I just pull on the chains."

She just pulls the chains. After something like a whole year of frustration (mine and hers) over learning to swing she now just pulls the chains. Those were the magic words that made it click for her? Nobody ever told me about pulling the chains. She said Ellie at school told her about that. Well sheesh. Can Ellie come over and teach her how to eat over her plate, or tie her shoes, too?


Lawdy lawdy. The child has gone and taught herself something I just couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. It was one of my proudest moments as a mother. For reals. I know to some of you, who perhaps have always been physically coordinated all your life, this is silly. But what you are about to understand is that my babe is the apple, I am the tree. My parents called me Tanglefoot as a child, for Heaven's sake! Just let that sink in. Tangle. Foot.

Anyway, she swings. And that is going down as one my top five favorite things about December.


Part 2 tomorrow. [fingers crossed].

Love,
Rebecca