Things I Learned from My Two-Year-Old
Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2010
by Gabriella Gometra
I thought I had it all figured out. Go to work, pay the bills, go out with friends and do it all over again. Then came baby, and everything changed. There was still work and the bills, but friends went out the window. When he was almost two, I started staying home and awaited baby number two. By now he's two and a half, with a six week old sister, and I realize more and more each day how little I truly knew.
I have been told that I'm articulate, and I consider myself to be pretty in tune with how I'm feeling, but I'm a long way from being open the way my son is. Every day he shows me that all those times I assumed my patience was superior I may have been wrong. Not only is he capable of frustrating me in a way very few people can, he can also pacify my anger like no one else. If I was truly as stable and strong as I thought, would that make me impervious to his powers? Perhaps all mothers are affected so strongly by their children. Maybe it is what allows us to teach them; it could even be the reason they feel safe with us.
Although I appreciate that he can point out my flaws, I love the good things my son has shown me. I wasn't aware how loudly I can laugh, and had forgotten how easy it is to have good clean fun. There are no sarcasm or slapstick routines in our play room. We can just smile for the sake of smiling. A "gentle poke" is as rough as it gets, and we giggle as we command to each other, "YOU sing it!!" Even when I've heard it for the hundredth time that morning, it brightens my day to see the joy in his eyes as my little boy tells me that Buzz Lightyear flies "To in-fly and bee-yooond!", and is endearing that he hasn't yet learned that it's really to "infinity."
So as the days pass and my little man grows taller, older, and wiser I teach him many important things. I teach him to share, say please and thank you, how to be gentle, how to be kind and generous, even how to control his bodily functions. But I can't help but think that somehow the things he teaches me are at least as important. He teaches me about myself, about happiness and peace, about connection and love. This life has gained so much enrichment from the teachings of a two-year-old. I wonder what his sister will show me in a couple years.
Author Credit: Gabriella Gometra, stay-at-home mother and writer, builds sites on a diverse number of topics, such as http://washablearearugs.net which is a great resource about oval area rugs.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)I have four children myself and I could not agree with you more. It is amazing the things that they will teach you about yourself and about life. About what is important and what can just wait until tomorrow. Thanks for the article.Thanks, Matthew. You are so right about the things that can just wait until tomorrow.
You are definitely a good mother!
Motherhood - no more exhausting or rewarding job in the world! So nice to hear from a mom who recognizes that. Enjoy! They grow up very quickly and one thing is for sure, you'll never regret a moment spent with them. (But I'm sure you've been told that before.)
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