The Next Generation

There are so many things I love about being a mommy. I could make an impressive list. However, one of the things I really love is getting the chance to share my passions with my children and watch them discover them for the first time. It's like rediscovering all of the things I love all over again through their eyes. 

When Parker was three, and his daddy was away on another deployment, we were snuggling together one day when we came upon Star Wars on television. I don't even remember which one it was, except that it was one of the original three, and that he was hooked from the first moment he saw Darth Vader. I did what any rational mother would do, and went out that same week to buy the entire set on Blu Ray so that we could watch them together. I probably spent more time watching him. Oh, how his eyes lit up. Oh how they danced. Before the summer was out our home was filled with light sabers, tiny Playschool action figures meant for small ones, (because Bash needed to be able to play too, and was too young for tiny, removable parts) and the Millennium Falcon. We dressed as Star Wars characters for Halloween that year, my three year old insisted on growing his hair out "like Anakin", and I had my first taste of what it was like to share a passion with my child. 

It happened again with Harry Potter. I watched as my boys reached for their letters with Harry, as they boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time, and as they got their first wands. They were handmade pieces of wood from Mommy, covered in hot glue and paint, but for a moment I felt like Ollivander himself. I'm only slightly disappointed that they saw these things in movie form before hearing them read, but I look forward to starting the first book with them this year. They are ready, and so am I!

One of my daughters first ten words was "doll", and I have walked the American Girl store with her many times delighting over her every "Oooohhhhh!" She pushes about strollers, and covers babies with blankets, and every so often she will stop with her mouth open in a big, round "O" and just take everything in. I poured over those catalogs as a little girl, dreaming of one day saving up enough money for my own. The first time I stepped into a store I was 30, pregnant, and it is rumored that I cried. I was able to give my daughter her first baby doll for her birthday, and watch as her little face lit up and she earned the name "Little Mama". 

The same thing happened the first time she came face to face with a Care Bear. There was no way that my tiny girl could have possibly known about her mama's Care Bear collection. She has no idea about the years worth of Care Bear cakes my amazing Grandmama made for me as I grew up. But she threw her arms around Funshine Bear and covered her heart shaped nose with open mouthed baby kisses. I can't tell you exactly how fast Funshing made her way into our cart to come home for Christmas, but I'm pretty sure that I would have broken a world record had an official from Guinness been there to time it. 

We've started watching The Hobbit movies with the boys last week. We debated some of the more frightening parts, but finally decided that it was something they could handle. I'm glad we did. I listened today as my boys danced around the house with their wooden swords, battling orcs as Galdalf and "Bildoh", and bemoaning the fact that they didn't have a magic ring and were too young to grown a proper wizard beard. I think I need to re-read the book again now after rediscovering it through the eyes of my children. They allow for so much magic to come back into my life when I can be open to it. I love when old magic becomes new to me again, and I hope that I can thank them for that properly one day.

**I know that this post is coming well after midnight, but it still counts for my January 7th post, because I haven't been to bed yet. :) **

A Long Time Ago...

Today I watched Penn State loose spectacularly to Georgia in the Gator Bowl. (Because I refuse to call it the Tax Slayer Bowl. What an asinine name.) By spectacularly I don't mean that it was a horrible loss. I mean it was actually an exciting game to watch where you actually thought they might come back to tie it and go into overtime until those last 5 seconds or so. Good job, Penn State. I look forward to next season.

After the game is the important part though, because we took the littles out to the mall for some special family time. Eleanor and I wanted to see the new Girl of the Year at American Girl, (You laugh here, but she gets just as excited as Mommy to go look at the dolls, and ran around with her mouth wide open saying "Wow! Wooooow! Wow!") and the boys had gift cards for Build A Bear that were burning holes in their pockets. Parker had been sitting on his two since last Christmas as a matter of fact, so he was more than ready to cash in. (You laugh, but the boys are just as excited as Mommy to stuff fluffy bears with plush hearts and love.) 

I sort of love that my littles are into some of the same things Mommy is into. 

Bash really wanted a Storm Trooper bear. A Storm Trooper bear with a blue light saber to be exact. Of course, the Storm Trooper bears were the only ones they were sold out of up in Denver. While he tried to make another decision, bravely looking over Darth Vader bears as a second choice, Daddy made a phone call to the mall down in Colorado Springs to find out that they had "more than enough" Storm Trooper bears to go around. Of course they did. Back we trecked to The Springs, which was in our direction anyways, and Bash very quickly selected the very first Storm Trooper bear he saw. It's darn cute too.

Not so, Parker. Much like a little girl long ago, and a grown woman most days now come to think of it, he agonized over his decision. First there were four possibilities, the three, then four again, down to two, back to four...The two women who worked there started turning off lights and tapping their toes even though we still had a half an hour before they were supposed to close. I glared right back at them and hovered about as he went back and forth and back again. It was quite an ordeal, and it took all of our half hour, but he made a choice. It's pretty freaking awesome too!

Look at that! I just made it with two minutes to spare! Two days and two entries! I'm on a roll!