Isaac Skis

The Yummy Terrible Two's

 At times I am envious of your ability to express yourself

Other times, when you are not looking, I have to laugh at your displays

BUT...

My favorite is when I 'throw the tantrum right back at you' and you laugh at mama hysterically.

Ask (or don’t ask) 10 people and 3 will tell you that they would never go back to that time, 3 say it is the best time ever and cherish it, 3 tell you to hang in there and it will be over soon, and 1 will just smile without a word after asking your child's age.

Sure, it can be embarrassing out in public when your son acts like a lunatic, but the looks from people that are the most bothered surely feel the same way on the inside and are just bummed that they cannot express themselves in the same way on the outside.

Usually Isaac is a champ, so maybe that helps, but he is a bit of an audience hound and lately since we are attempting our own version of the bilingual home schooling (which consists of his papa and baba speaking only Russian two days a week and on visits), there have been those comments from others- “Is he talking yet…how many words can he say??” It is funny how early people start the life competition “My kid is smarter than your kid” …Slap me if I ever have one of those bumper stickers or become like the mothers in Texas (I can say that because I lived there) who plot against other children who are more talented than there’s … although looking back into my own competitive nature, that may be hard for me…I will admit it.

And so the peer pressure starts (and of course really started  at conception)… who will handle it better- Leo, Isaac or I? Probably Isaac.

….And so if he has to have a few fits learning that the world can be a rough place, better now than learning that lesson later when he will not be able to fall on the ground and wail without the world judging him (unless he becomes a comedian which is possible given his sense of humor and the bits he already has with his 5 words and his joy when I mop the floor and he purposely slips and falls over and over and over thinking he is Charlie Chaplain and loving it), let the judgment fall to me for now, I can take it and throw it right back.

We all succumbed to the terrible two’s once (and if we were still honest, still do at times) and we all miss it on some days.

The Observer

I just dropped Isaac off at school and waited in the wings just to observe him in a bit of an unnatural setting.  They are having a PJ party and watching a movie today as a Valentines Day treat.

As the TV began to play Ratatouille, all the children like an alien assembly line, sat still, turned towards the TV and began laughing and watching as little Remy ran around.  It is a cute movie mind you, but something about it seemed strange to me, it struck a chord about the children in our country growing up today with so much stimulation and focus on a small box for their information and livelihood. 

As I sat telling myself to relax, perhaps I was projecting as I was a TV addict during my childhood.  It is only a movie, and that they should have some fun, I scanned the room and noticed one child who was sitting next to the TV facing all of the children and observing them instead.  Of course as I looked closer, it was Isaac. 

I laughed as I watched him take it all in.  What are these kids laughing at?  What are they thinking?  Where are the cute girls for me to flirt with?  He examined their faces as if they held the secrets of the universe. . .

And then he turned to me and paused just long enough to acknowledge he knew why I was smiling, and then he returned to his qwest for understanding human behavior.

Too bad more of us do not try the same experiment more often.  We might receive better information from others than we do that box.

The rockstar is 2