Today we celebrated birthdays with two families and we were out of the house celebrating for nearly 7 hours! Needless to say, we returned home happy and utterly exhausted from our day.
After an early nap we left for the first birthday at a kid's gym 40 minutes north of our home. We've never taken the boys to a gymnastics center before so we were a bit out of our league for a few minutes. All the other babies and toddlers attacked the climbing units and floor mats with all the enthusiasm and confidence familiarity brings. Cubby gurgled and looked around in his usual contented way. The Bear looked completely suspicious of everyone and everything there. The shrieks of laughter and loud music only added to the chaos of working through a new place in his mind. We've learned that while the Bear is always congenial and happy to meet new faces, he must process new ideas and places slowly to himself before engaging them, there is just no use rushing him.
His senses were overwhelmed when we arrived. I set him down on the mat and he immediately wanted to be held again, it took a few minutes of inspecting the mats and the children before he released his hold on my neck. A few minutes passed before the gym teacher asked us all to sit on the mat with our children and prepare for introductions. She asked every child to say their name and then perform a trick of some kind. Babies were flipped backwards while the older kids ran to the uneven bars to show off their favorite moves. Eventually it was our turn. I introduced the Bear, who was sitting between my legs watching the others with a careful eye. She invited him over to her and after a bit of prompting he made his way to the middle of the circle. The teacher proceeded to flip him forward and he landed with a loud thump on the mat. His eyes were huge and his mouth opened in a little "oooooo" of disbelief. He walked back quickly and began to cry and point at the teacher as if to say, "Mommy, did you see what she did to me??"
Suffice to say, he became very suspicious of the teacher and of the entire class in general for the next half hour. He kept an eye on her at all times, on guard for any sudden threatening motion that signaled an unsolicited cartwheel or handspring awaited. Then miracle of miracles, plush footballs and a bubble machine were brought out. Grace and redemption were duly given by my toddler and he decided to extend his favor upon the Little Gym. He crawled over every mat and climbed each apparatus they had to offer. He walked across the balance beams and hung from every bar. Bubbles floated over his head as he ran around in a dizzy cloud of joy. He ate pizza and cake at the big kids table...ok ok, he smeared cake all over his pizza and then ate it. He loved it! The teacher commented on how quickly he picked up on different physical challenges, we noticed it as well. J and I continually talk about how we want to encourage our boys with the things they naturally excel in. We have met with our first out-of-home opportunity to encourage and I've decided to scour my neighborhood for a preschooler gym. Keep that toddler active, engaged, and motivated to move! I'm going to rewrite his weekly activity schedule as soon as we find a gym (Yes, they both have a detailed schedule down to the minute for every day of the week. And yes, I will stick to the schedule no matter how many children I have). Cubby, by the way, also had a marvelous time. He ate his body weight in watermelon and giggled at every bubble that floated past his little nose. He even attacked a mat or two of his own now that he is almost crawling.
After the gym party, we traveled 45 minutes to the next party for my little cousin who is not so little anymore. :*( She is turning into the loveliest person imaginable with a wonderful combination of spunk, sweetness and concern for others. I was in 8th grade when she came into the world, and it has seemed infinitely brighter ever since. She turned 11 years old today and I wish her all the curiosity and discovery life can bring her. I can wish that because she is blessed with common sense. I doubt anyone wished that for me on my 11th birthday because it would have been tantamount to wishing for my death since I was bereft of any sensible thought until the age of 20. Ok...24. At any rate, Happy Birthday R, may curiosity race through your mind and discovery open at your fingertips as you continue to explore the world in this, your eleventh year of life.
Birthdays are such glorious things. I recently saw a google ad for a cancer research society that claimed to be in the "birthday business," on account of the lives they fought hard to save. How wonderful! A science foundation that wishes to honor life and celebrate it. The ad brought tears to my eyes. Even more so in an age when we quickly forgo the basic civil right of something so simple as a birthday for countless millions in the name of science. My priest back home in Chicago has noted that the plight of the unborn is our generation's Civil Rights Movement. I agree whole heartedly.
We've stolen billions of birthdays. Trillions of bubbles and giggles. We've shelved the grass stains and pool parties. We have lost the plate of upset cake and the last whisp of smoke curling out from that first birthday candle. Gone is the camera click from two beaming parents and that beautiful child that was once a bundle of cells longing to burst forward into a tumbling pile of limbs and curls. Brilliant society that we are, we have reduced ourselves to stealing birthdays. That same priest gave a most enlightened sermon on embryonic stem cell research. Before you roll your eyes at the priest that lectures on political topics, go to the site and hear the sermon. Refreshingly well-researched, it was both eye opening and heart breaking. He gave all of the PC, "I'll agree with anything trendy just so I don't offend you" variant something to think about. Are you a defender of birthdays?
The new week looms before me and I have some serious organization projects to tackle. Streamlining is bliss. A cup of tea and a bowl filled with rising dough are the only other things that keep my day going. I wish I could hit the hay now but a pile of mending awaits (they really should not put buttons on any item of clothing for toddlers). Good thing Camelot is on Netflix instant watch this month! Happy Birthday and goodnight.
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