Owen is growing up. Changing. Evolving. And I am still playing with fairies and singing rhymes beneath a wide blue sky. There has been tension. Shane pointed this out to me and suggested I become interested in the things he's interested in. I scoffed, Pokemon/Bakugan/Comic Books/Video Games (all the things that he gets to do in Illinois), how can I muster interest in those. Then we found a dead phone. Now you might not initially expect a dead phone to provide common ground, but never underestimate the value of castoff electronics. I handed him a screw driver and asked if he wanted to take it apart. He did. He became ecstatic. LOOOOOOK at this mom, this is how it works, and this and this and this. He explored it for two days and I was genuinely excited and interested too. The magic of a common interest. Now I have to give up the "Brush your teeth/eat your breakfast/comb your hair/make your bed" mama diatribe and allow my son the space to create the man he is going to become. Oh letting go! It doesn't appear to be a mother's strong suit, perhaps that is why we are given so many opportunities to practice.
Owen is growing up. Changing. Evolving. And I am still playing with fairies and singing rhymes beneath a wide blue sky. There has been tension. Shane pointed this out to me and suggested I become interested in the things he's interested in. I scoffed, Pokemon/Bakugan/Comic Books/Video Games (all the things that he gets to do in Illinois), how can I muster interest in those. Then we found a dead phone. Now you might not initially expect a dead phone to provide common ground, but never underestimate the value of castoff electronics. I handed him a screw driver and asked if he wanted to take it apart. He did. He became ecstatic. LOOOOOOK at this mom, this is how it works, and this and this and this. He explored it for two days and I was genuinely excited and interested too. The magic of a common interest. Now I have to give up the "Brush your teeth/eat your breakfast/comb your hair/make your bed" mama diatribe and allow my son the space to create the man he is going to become. Oh letting go! It doesn't appear to be a mother's strong suit, perhaps that is why we are given so many opportunities to practice.
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