These Dog Days

It’s been a really nice, busy summer.  I love that there is never a dull moment here in the city.  There is always something fun to do, and for that reason alone I never want to leave.

With YiaYia at Victorian Gardens in Central Park

Victorian Gardens, Central Park

Madison Square Park Kids throws a free concert for children on Tuesdays, and has many other programs geared toward toddlers on up.  We can walk to MSP, so it’s an easy and fun option for us.  We go as often as possible.

Horrifying Parents at Madison Square Park

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band

Other days, our daily routine feels like groundhog day.  We wake up, eat breakfast, scramble to get out of the apartment to head to the park for the eleventy-billionth time this month.

Park Bound

As mundane as these days feel though,  they are the opposite of that in the life of a toddler.  Small, yet monumental changes are happening daily with the kids in between our normal routine.  Zoe is ready for her very own scooter.  The fact that she’s ready and able to ride a scooter absolutely blows my mind.  She’s also potty training herself, which is messy and blindingly frustrating at times but at least we’re moving in the right direction.  I wasn’t quite ready for this, but she is a child that does things on her own watch, not mine. Clearly.  I estimate she will be using the potty, emptying my pocketbook, and wearing my make-up by the time she turns two next month. Sigh.

Jack is expressing himself so much better than a couple of months ago.  He’s been in some speech therapy and it seems to have really helped him.   He’s building Lego castles, cutting shapes from his KUMON workbooks, and spelling nearly every word he sees.  We have difficult, power-struggle days, but the majority of the time he is a cool, laid back kid.  I fear I will be one of those moms that cries her eyes out on his first day of real preschool.  I cried at the parent orientation for Pete’s sake.

Justin is taking the last final of his summer courses as I type this.  We’re headed back to our home town in California next week and will be spending some much needed time with family and friends.  I’m hoping it grounds me a little.  I’ve been piling things onto my plate at a breakneck speed and am struggling to find a balance.  It’s a complex place that I’ve found myself that I wasn’t anticipating.  But it feels really great.  I’m trying to find a way to improve myself and my place in this world apart from being a stay at home mother.

Yet I am a mother, first and foremost.

Reminding myself constantly to capitalize on the sweetness of their babyhood.  The moments in between the chaos of life are the most crucial.  Especially during the long, dog days of summer.