Ruminations of an "Old" Mom...

[SoCalDem]

My "boys" are 31,27 and 26.

There was a time when they were 6, 4 & 3, though, and during that same timeframe we moved to 5 states (7 houses), so Erma Bombeck was definitely my favorite author (as if I ever I had time to read much)..

Mothers (and Dads too).. Please lighten up a bit. Your kids are small for only a while, and then they are gone. I am glad they are grown, and happily out on their own, but while they are young, give them memories..

Hunt lizards in the yard with them instead of folding laundry, you will always have laundry but lizards are transient..

If they do not have the bath at 7 PM sharp, they will not self-destruct..

Dirt is not fatal.

With our first, we would pick up his toys or pacifier and wash it every time he dropped it.. by the time the 3rd one came along, we would pick the cat hair off it, and hand it back to him.:)

Don't "schedule" little kids.. Let them sleep when they want, play when they want, do nothing when they want. There will be a lifetime of regimentation awaiting them..

Do 3 yr olds really "want" gymnastics classes??

Kids are very forgiving people, and some of the things we agonize over are not even on their radar screens..

Messy rooms have doors that can be closed :)

Clean clothes in a basket are wearable:)

When I listen to my grown ups talk about their childhoods, it amazes me. The 3 of them have such a vivid recollection of all the places we lived, and a lot of it is just a blur to me. They remember all the silly stuff, and very little of the "tough" stuff.

Give your kids "silly stuff" to remember..Some of the worst vacation disasters were their "funnest"..

Like the "beachfront" hotel in Mexico, that was actually on a CLIFF that I was sure someone would plummet to their death from :eyes:.. Those prepubescent boys climbed up and down that rickety staircase many times a day, and no one died..:)

and the hotel we were actually almost evicted from when my "boys" left the room and 3 am and went a mile out on a sandbar to shoot fireworks (that we did NOT know they had bought).. We did get to meet the mexican police at 3 am on that one :)

As we get older, they become the "keepers" of memories. We forget a lot of the things that make them who they are.. Let them remember you riding horses on a beach with them, instead of perched on a couch folding clothes and barking orders :)

[Pithlet]

1. Thanks for this post.

It's easy to get caught up in all the little things that don't really matter. This is a fleeting time, and it's good to be reminded of that. My oldest is old enough that I can remember that age, and I'd like to fill up his memories with good times.

[SW FL Dem]

2. Great post

I learned that lesson a few years ago. I used to worry about keeping my "dream house" clean. Then we moved and I ended up with a house that was comfortable, but nowhere near my dream home. The best part is that my focus has totally shifted. The new house is clean, but it
is far from a showplace. Even better, I have a whole lot more time to spend with my family. As I watch my only grow up, I realize I made the right choice. He will be going to college in a little more than 4 years. My son's memories will be of mom camping in the family room, staying up late during the summer watching movies. Today, the house wasn't perfect, there was laundry to be folded, but my son had tryouts for his school team. I spent 4hours watching him excel at his sport, then I stuck a prepared meal in the oven and sat on the couch with my family and watched tv. Life isn't perfect, you need to focus on the things that make you happy.

[MediumBrownDog]

3. Thanks for the wonderful post....

You make me feel more comfortable about "going with my gut" with my 6 month old son. I don't schedule him, I take cues from him about eating, napping, and playtime, and he's the happiest baby around so far. :)

[SoCalDem]

4. A doctor once told me "It takes a LOT to kill a baby"

Of course in the atmosphere of today, someone would probably arrest him, but what he meant was that babies are much tougher than they look, and they have built-in defenses that are not always apparent ..

I had a friend whose baby , Tony was her one and only.. she NEVER took that child anywhere because she was afraid he would "catch something".. My youngest was in the bowling alley nursery at 6 weeks..

anyway, Tony ended up the sickest kid you ever saw because he was never exposed to anything as a baby..

When my neighbor's 4 yr old got chicken pox, we had a neighborhood sleepover so all the kids would get exposed at once and we would get it over with .. It sucked having 3 with chicken pox, but it was better than spending all summer with it hanging around :) and they all had had it before anyone started school :)

As you can tell, I'm a laid-back Mom..but it's because I learned with my first who had a serious birth defect, and 28 operations before he was 8.. that you just don't sweat the small stuff :)

[wildeyed]

5. I read somewhere that a baby needs to develop an illness

with a high fever at least twice during the first year to help the immune system develop properly. So I got worried b/c my second only had ONE high fever. But it is not my fault that he wasn't sicker. I took him everywhere plus he got exposed to all the germs his sis brought home from preschool. I dunno, maybe I should have let him teeth on the shopping cart handle more........

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

6. They give kid chicken pox vaccinations these days,

so I suppose chicken pox isn't as much of a problem as it used to be.

[SoCalDem]

7. Yes.. they do have that now

My "babies" are old babies, and we didn;t have all the vaccines that are around now.. Although, I think I might be afraid to get them vaccinated these days..:scared:

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

8. Aren't vaccinations are requirement for attending public schools,

even college?

[SoCalDem]

9. Yes they are.. and there are way MORE vaccinations now

When mine were little there were't as many.. The last vaccine they needed was a booster at age 13..

With all the press now about what's in them, I'm glad those days are behind me :)

[LeftyMom]

10. Not if you flip the form over and sign the opt out

then you can get as many or as few as you please. (Well, the proccedure varies, but every state has an opt out. In CA it's on the back of the school shot record and you just sign and date it.)

We actually have to keep the form on file for our homeschool, which has got to be the stupidest regulation ever.

[SW FL Dem]

11. Not in FL.

My son was in 3rd grade when we moved here, but I had to furnish a shot record before I could enroll him. In 7th grade they had a second check, kids had to have a second tetanus and a full HiB series or they wouldn't be allowed to attend school. They weren't kidding, they gave the kids 4 weeks after the beginning of 7th grade to get the shots and provide proof, after that, the kids weren't allowed in the school.

[LeftyMom]

12. The school people usually won't tell you about it

(and sometimes they don't know the law) but EVERY state has an exemption built into the law.

http://www.vaclib.org/exempt/florida.htm

[BamaGirl]

13. Good post ;)

I'm a very laid back mom. I insist on bedtime on school nights but other than that my kids don't have much in the way of a schedule.