AuntyB: When you are exhausted out of your mind and your child nestles their little head next to your neck and relaxes into your shoulder very ready to fall asleep, you think: "This is as good as it gets."
A last sigh and a tiny voice says, "Night, night." It is recliner time for Mom. The first ten minutes intro to sleep is critical. A few mumbled words and your toddler begins the descent into rest. That's your time to relax for a few minutes, letting the house come to a quiet standstill. Peace for your baby (now toddler) and peace for you as you let go of the tensions of the day and think, "Yes, we've lived another segment for our life together.
It has been a pleasure for me to sit down and reflect about the unfolding of the morning. I add a page to my daily journal. Will my child one day enjoy reading about her day when she was two years old? Events that she has no recall of except through the words on that page.
Will she smile when she reads about letting the garden hose bubble up out of the end, taking a first drink from the hose and drenching the front of her shirt? Maybe she will like reading about reaching down into the big red coffee can to get two fistfuls of wild birdseed to scatter on the street for the blackbirds.
Ah, yes, life is sweet as I remember our day. Everything else fades in comparison to the rich first exciting experiences for this brand new individual. All is wonderful for her and that excitement spills over onto me. Baby rests; Mom regroups.
Grandmama: Reflecting back on those days when the mother of AuntyB's niece was two is sweet even now. One thing that kept me from a lot of anxiety was having learned something about toddler child development.
Knowing what was age appropriate behavior freed me to allow her space for her own schedule. Not pushing her to meet unrealistic expectations gave me some space, too, to enjoy her wonder and peace with her world. The routines AuntyB described provides a framework of security from which a little one may go forth boldly.
Sweet as they were then, now, as ever, are the good old days.
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