If you're a mom, think about what makes you smile... chances are it has somehting to do with your offspring. If they're little, you may just need to picture their smiling faces. As they get older, it may be the little nuggets of gold that come out of their mouths.
Nick makes me frown sometimes. I try not to share that with the general public. In fact, I've been told that I seem to think Nick is perfect. Well, I don't. My husband and I are constantly battling whining, bad attitudes and smart mouth comments. But he's 7. I don't think he's all that much worse than other kids his age, and I figure if a mom can't brag about a kid, who will? So I do.
Today's golden nugget came out of the blue. Many times, I'll admit to grabbing the "teachable moment"... to the point where I feel like my time with Nick is made up of "Yaseetimmy" moments. (From the TV show Lassie. Every episode ended with Dad lecturing on the moral of the day's episode... "You see, Timmy...")
I grab teachable moments on the el (bad examples of loud teens, good examples of young men offering their seats to older women), on the playground, in restaurants and of course, on the ice. Ever since he was 3 years old, Nick has heard me tell him that there are only three rules:
Today I think I am going to celebrate this first rule, and it's full and complete absorption into Nick's life.
While sitting in McDonald's for breakfast (a rare treat, no junk-food lectures please), we were talking about baseball. An older man walked past our table and looked at us. I didn't notice any sort of "look," just looking like you do when you are glancing through a restaurant.
After he passed, Nick told me he thought the man looked sad, and that maybe he wanted to sit where we were sitting. He got up and was going to offer him our table (even though the place was mostly empty). Then he saw the man and his wife had secured another table not too far away. Satisfied that the man had secured an adequate substitute, Nick sat back down. I was chewing, and he took a bite, so we didn't say anything for a moment.
After a minute of silence, Nick swallowed and said, "You know mom, it feels good to do nice things for people."
What do you say to that? I answered "Yes Nick, it really does."
Made mom smile.
Nick makes me frown sometimes. I try not to share that with the general public. In fact, I've been told that I seem to think Nick is perfect. Well, I don't. My husband and I are constantly battling whining, bad attitudes and smart mouth comments. But he's 7. I don't think he's all that much worse than other kids his age, and I figure if a mom can't brag about a kid, who will? So I do.
Today's golden nugget came out of the blue. Many times, I'll admit to grabbing the "teachable moment"... to the point where I feel like my time with Nick is made up of "Yaseetimmy" moments. (From the TV show Lassie. Every episode ended with Dad lecturing on the moral of the day's episode... "You see, Timmy...")
I grab teachable moments on the el (bad examples of loud teens, good examples of young men offering their seats to older women), on the playground, in restaurants and of course, on the ice. Ever since he was 3 years old, Nick has heard me tell him that there are only three rules:
- Be nice.
- Have fun.
- Always do your best.
Today I think I am going to celebrate this first rule, and it's full and complete absorption into Nick's life.
While sitting in McDonald's for breakfast (a rare treat, no junk-food lectures please), we were talking about baseball. An older man walked past our table and looked at us. I didn't notice any sort of "look," just looking like you do when you are glancing through a restaurant.
After he passed, Nick told me he thought the man looked sad, and that maybe he wanted to sit where we were sitting. He got up and was going to offer him our table (even though the place was mostly empty). Then he saw the man and his wife had secured another table not too far away. Satisfied that the man had secured an adequate substitute, Nick sat back down. I was chewing, and he took a bite, so we didn't say anything for a moment.
After a minute of silence, Nick swallowed and said, "You know mom, it feels good to do nice things for people."
What do you say to that? I answered "Yes Nick, it really does."
Made mom smile.
