Learning from the Munchkin

Well, the first thing I've been learning is that my shoes look best on her. And this is probably my favorite of her silly faces.

The second thing is that anything can become a song. She adds verses to The Wheels on the Bus like "the tiger on the bus goes rah, rah, rah." Then there's the drop it song, based, I think, on me saying "I'm gonna get you, I'm gonna get you." She sings, "I wanna drop it, I'm gonna drop it" usually about some object that she insisted on bringing in the stroller and I really don't want to lose like that library book last week.

She also taught me just today to look up at the sky more often. We were at a playground near R's Long Island studio and she was going on the slides. I climbed up the plastic "rock" wall to this giant slide and enjoyed that even though I exceeded the 5-12 age recommendation. When she saw me, she insisted that I slide next to her on the smaller double slide so I obeyed. At the bottom, I stood up to go somewhere else when I noticed that she had lain back down on the slide and was staring up at the sky. I copied her and was amazed at how calm and quiet everything felt. I wish I had taken a picture of the blue sky, the clouds, and the colorful leaves. Too often I think of the playground visits as boring or a chance for her to exercise and have fun while I have a semi-adult conversation with a parent I might know a little bit. But it can be a moment of worship. These moments seem like they are harder to find in Bushwick but that might not be the case.

Finally, E. has taught me that singing at the doctor's office is not only acceptable but soothing for both of us. A few weeks ago we spent way too long waiting to see the pediatrician and by the time we were finally out of the waiting room (though still waiting), I was really frustrated and feeling like a negligent mom for not bringing snacks or extra milk. E. was whining off and on but then she requested the "Bible song" aka "Jesus Loves Me" At first I said no, not being a real public singer but she asked again and I sang it a few times to her quietly. Somehow, she knew what we both needed to hear at that moment. We both were completely calm and collected by the time the doctor came in and the whole visit went well.