If only Aunt Alicia was on permanent break. P and I would kidnap her and drag her about the city to our heart's content. And it would take a Lot of dragging to make P's heart content :) He optimistically "sees" her about twice a week. The girl running up the sub stairs with long wavy hair. The strawberry blonde dashing across Houston Street.
But last week we got the real deal - Three times! After our fun day at the Botanical Gardens we frolicked on the rocks of Central Park under the sun. P was unusually content the whole day - making for a mellow and exceptionally enjoyable time. We started at the Crystal Rocks, where we picnicked, chiseled and people watched. Then P started dragging Alicia down and around the great rocks where we bumped into a fellow unschooler doing the same to his mum. The little man discovered a new path through greenness and daffodils where he decided to dig for Larger Crystals. Unfortunately, said crystals were in the Middle of a popular path. Fortunately, we were able to coax the little man onward...
We settled onto another rock outcropping where P danced precariously close to the edge (see top pic). He repeatedly tossed imaginary BB into a dirty puddle and then we chiseled away at a crystal swatch, garnering a few beauties. It was So Lovely and Relaxing. Actually Relaxing. Which, honestly, caught me off guard. I'm the first to admit that parenting almost did this whimp in. The sleeplessness, combined with the constant demands, combined with the number of deathly dangerous things abounding for a small child that moves independently (and quickly) before their brain has a Clue about what is actually dangerous - oy! And, of course, I'm a whimp:) Then, just the other day, someone replied to a post shortly after I posted it. And they had read the linked article too! I was lovin' the devotion, but blown away by the ability to do so much reading - right at Busy Bedtime! And then it hit me. Not only has life become so much more beautiful because spring is here and the little man sleeps Allll night now (and generally knows what will kill him), but also because I've finally forgotten what life pre-kids was like. (I often forget everyone doesn't have a couple kids stashed away somewhere too...) Cuz that was the biggest bitch of all in the early days, remembering the mellow evenings watching a movie, surfing the net, eating a warm dinner, talking to my husband, finishing a thought, reading a (non-parenting) book. As Phoenix wailed in my arms or repeatedly tried to eat another rock (and then wailed inconsolably at being thwarted), I would remember those freedoms and sigh. And it all hung heavily on my sleepy brain for the first, oh, three years (have I mentioned I'm slow to transition too?) I know we could have gotten a babysitter, shoved a bottle at the kid or stuck him in a crib to get some space, but that just wasn't our bag.... we wanted the bag we had, we were just surprised with how heavy it seemed in comparison to our bagless past lives, pre-kid:) With that friend's email, it hit me that after 4 and some years, being a parent is finally natural for me. God that's embarrassing.... And sounds unbelievably self-centered.... (But I'll admit right now, I've been adding to this post for 4 days now and have yet to finish it - and that seems perfectly normal. Two years ago it would have driven my Type A side Nuts:)
So where was I? Rocks. Yes. We danced on the rocks and then headed to the Alice sculpture. We never made it there because some Gorgeous magnolia trees called our names... and P was fascinated by burying his screwdriver :) His reading ability is entering into his play more and more. As he buried his lot and marked it with an "X," pirate style, he wondered what the "X" stood for. What word does it start? Why do they use an "X"?
Aunt Alicia, screwdriver retriever extraordinaire, looks on with her magical camera (aka new appendage:):
As the wind turned chilly we returned to our sweaters and headed to the West Village for dinner. Uncle Seth and Papa joined us and P became immediately glued to Seth, sitting beside him, being carried by him, and finally crying for him as Seth exited our homebound subway. We got off at the next stop, immensely satisfied by a day in our city, yet again :) So satisfied in general, in fact, that I don't ever consider thinking about life pre-P, ever anymore....
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