NOTICE: PICS ARE INCLUDED AT END OF POST – THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR HOLIDAY DECORATING EXTRAVAGANZA!!
Being away from the girls, for even two nights does wonders for renewing the parenthood spirit and gumption. I use the word gumption because well, it just fits. Initiative may also work. I watch the girls explore the holiday decorations, ask questions and see answers that we may not know. The begin dressing up, making stories, Cora directing as usual, and creating a world that is amazing. I look at the way that they are beginning to use their imaginations and think, wow! They must be truly gifted. Then I begin sharing these stories with other moms and find out that other children are doing the same thing. Then I have to think, well maybe my children are not not necessarily gifted and unique but just going through the developmental process that is supposed to happen in children. Then I begin thinking of more stuff that they do. Oberlee can already count perfectly to twenty-five, especially when she is counting money. She loves math already. Cora has memorized the birthday months of every single one of her family members and close friends that we have and is writing her own television show about the “Sparkle Family”, as she says. I do not know of any children that do this, but maybe so. In the middle of this whole digressing thought journey that I’ve taken about my kids, surely over-analyzing it as our family tends to do – Cora walks up to me and says “so if Christmas is Jesus’ birthday party, do we need to invite Santa Claus?”. At this point, I could not speak. All I could do was hug her in that moment and realize that children, whatever package of personality and uniqueness that comes with them from the day that they are born are what is “gifted to us”. Anything after that, whether its a stroke of genius or just a developmental milestone, is all icing on the cake.
Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We spent it in Benton at Ben’s parents house. We had Aunt Alecia, Uncle Richard, Anna, Andrew, Grandma Mildred and Pappaw Joe. We were able to visit friends, decorate for Christmas, and get some things done around the house during all of the holiday traveling and visiting. Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Ashley
