It was parent/teacher conference day at Liam and Dawson's school and yesterday I had a conference with Dawson's teachers, who said that Dawson is at the stage of development where (2) where they like to do living arts, meaning all the things that we do. Really, they said, you could almost throw out all of their toys and just let them play with things like different kinds of beans and rocks they've gathered and things like that.
I got so excited. I would LOVE to get rid of all of our toys, most of which they don't even play with. So today, Tommy has a consultant up and is working on his magazine and I have the children all day, and I decided I would try some of the activities they suggested. I went out and got three bags of different colored lentils, set each child up with his own work space, gave them some containers, and let them do whatever they wanted. "Oooh! Activity day!" said Liam. They actually ran down the stairs, away from Curious George on TV, to the kitchen where their work spaces were set up. Dawson happily started pouring beans from one container to another. Liam made multi-layered design in a jar. They were so industrious, and happy to have something creative to do--I was thrilled. It was a completely different vibe than it is when I sit them down and say, "Now we are going to make birthday hats. Watch Mommy. Okay, wait, don't cut up the fax paper. Go ahead, put the sticker whereever you want. Okay, wait, not on the cat. Do not sit on the cat! Why can't you just leave the cat alone? Dawson! Turn OFF the water."
I left the room to go fold some laundry, and when I came back all of the lentils were on the floor. I guess Dawson had tried to pour lentils from a big container into a small one, and that looked like so much fun, Liam tried it too.
Dawson was crying because his feet were bare and beans were sticking to them. (He is very sensitive about his feet.)
And then I remembered the key thing I'd been told, which was to use child-sized jars and scoops, which I had been a little sloppy with.
So--whatever, you can't expect to get something perfect the first time. I mean I usually do expect that, but it isn't the best way to live. And once you get over the fact that you're going to have to sweep the kitchen floor, it's really not a bad way to spend the morning. I have high hopes for this afternoon. We're going to gather and paint rocks!
Living arts.
A nice morning chat.
This is the conversation Tommy and I had on the way back from the coffee shop this morning.
Tommy: So we need to figure out what to do with the bathroom in your sister's apartment.
(The ceiling fell down last week in their kitchen due to a leak in the tub.)
Me: Right. Don't want the whole tub to fall through.
Tommy: All of the plumbing in that bathroom is old and shot.
Me: My hair stinks.
Tommy: I think we should just tear that bathoom out.
Me: Good idea. Seriously, something smells. Is there poop in my hair?!!!!
Tommy: I think it's just oatmeal.
Like that's a lot better.
Much Better
The interesting thing about not trying so hard is that you get a lot done. I think it's because it puts you in a much better mood.
Example, the morning after my toothache meltdown my sister took the kids in the morning (she is now working as a part time nanny for us--it is the BEST!) and I got to sleep an extra half hour. It made all the difference in the world! I looked at my husband at 9:00, after my sister had taken the kids to school and said, "This is the first day in a long time I'm not mad at you by 9:30." (I really, really, cannot function before 8:00 am. Just can't do it.)
Then I decided that instead of forcing myself to write, I would do what Eckhart Tolle says he did, and sit down and just give myself time to let the writing "flow." It was more like a trickle, but somehow I also managed to get the laundry done and dinner made, and work on the book, all in the same day.
So: relaxing the brain plus childcare in the morning = some kind of bliss.
Or at least a slightly diminished mountain of laundry in the bathroom. I think I need to send those boys to school with slightly dirtier clothes. Honestly. They are such dirty little people, what's the point in putting them in fresh clean things every day? I'm not talking filthy clothes, but the ones that have been worn once and have say, just the teensiest bit of dried oatmeal on them, for example.
