Some Forest Moments

So...I think it’s pretty safe to say that these are extraordinary times to be a parent educating a child virtually in any capacity.

(And for that matter, it’s just an extraordinary time to be a human, for a gazillion reasons. I certainly don’t want to make it seem like one set of Covid World circumstances is greater or less than another).

It’s just tough work.

And today was extra tough—for reasons both related to, and unrelated to, education.

By the end of the day, I just needed to get the heck outdoors with my crazies because fresh air and a little exercise always seems to help. So although it’s still hella hot outside, we hopped on our bikes and it did a body—and a mind—good. Thank heavens.

But the trees we spent some time amongst are not the “forest” subject of this post.

N’yope.

The subject for today’s post is basically this:

On any given day, it can be so difficult to see the forest through the trees when raising young kiddos.

Furthermore, it’s also so, dang true that the days are often long, but the years are short.

And those sentiments feel particularly relevant these past six months, as we’ve been navigating circumstances that require us to really step up and involve ourselves in every aspect of our kiddos’ lives while they’re stuck close to home, and mostly still unable to go about their “normal” school and extra-curricular activities.

It’s hard to take all of that on, and keep it so close to the nest, without much of a reprieve or anywhere to go to get a true break. All whilst getting stuck in those trees in that ever-loving forest.

But.

I had a moment last weekend where I really saw the payoff of one of those up-close-and-personal time investments with the kiddos.

Basically, it went something like this: we weren’t comfortable utilizing a swim instructor for the kiddos this summer, because there was no possible way to keep decent social distance. And while the girlies’ were already strong little swimmers without floaties, Little Man needed strength and confidence and better skills. And that fell on me.

So...every time we hopped in the pool this summer, without fail, I gave him a “lesson” at some point; removing his floaties and doing drills with him. First and foremost, I was just focused on safety. Getting him strong enough to get to a wall or a set of stairs or just tread water without panicking. And we worked and worked, but I didn’t see any major advancements, until...all of a sudden, last weekend, IT CLICKED.

It was literally like a flip was switched and he totally got it, and he became this little fish in the water. 

Completely able to navigate without floaties from one side of the pool to the other, jumping in the deep end and staying afloat and swimming to the side, and I was just SO DANG PROUD AND EXCITED to see the fruits of our labor (and he was crazy proud of himself, too!).

(For the record, he still absolutely, totally, and completely wears a floatie in the water, and is under NO CONDITIONS allowed to go in the water without one, unless I’ve personally removed it to give him his “lesson” time and let him swim, swim, swim like the new fish he is. I still want that upper body strength to grow, but he’s got this now. The mechanics are finally in place, and whew, is that a major relief.)

So.

Today.

Since it was a tough day.

And, truth be told, I had a few rounds of tears (for a smattering of reasons, not the least of which was a roaring migraine—which the tears didn’t help)...

I decided I needed to get my gratitude on.

And focus on the things we HAVE managed to accomplish and enjoy over the past six months of this “new normal” life.

And then I decided it would be a good time to set some Forest Intentions that I want to manifest into reality over the next six months. 

One projecting-positivity-into-the-world moment for everyone. It might not come to fruition overnight, and it might be hard to track our progress, but I hope that six months from now, we can look back and see movement on the following...

For Little Man: I’d like to make it six months down the road and not encounter any croup.

The doctors keep telling me he should age out of it, but for the past three Fall seasons, we’ve ended up in the hospital at some point, and I think it goes without saying that conditions in the world right now make me want me to keep far away from the ER.

For Chica: I’d like to make it six months down the line and be nearing the end of her expander/orthodontic days!

She’s been a total champ, handling the gradual expansion within her jaw. And talk about the best time to get it over with, when she’s stuck at home more than ever. But for her sake (and for the sake of my wallet), I’d love for her time with all that metal in her mouth to pass quickly!

For Chicklet: oh, my sweetie, amazing, riotous Chicklet. I want her to become a reading machine in the next six months.



Despite ongoing work on the sounding-things-out front, she continues to want to use her wild imagination to make up words (often beginning with the same letter of the actual word I’m trying to make her read; which I suppose is something), instead of using the letters as clues to the actual sounds (even though she can).

And this virtual-schooling Mama really really really needs to see the fruits of all of our painful labor on this front. Stat. 

And, lastly...the hubby (chopping his veggies, whilst wearing a “spank” sign that our son wrote and taped to his heiny, ha): I need, need, NEED to see him making guy-rebuilding progress.

This immune-restoring, food-eliminating, getting-to-the-bottom-of-his-issues began in April, and so far, we haven’t made much progress.

While the details are a whole post for another time, I so desperately—for his sake and the sake of our entire, food-consuming family—want to look back in six months’ time and see A LOT O’ PROGRESS.

So there you have it. Some Forest Intentions for some future Forest Moments they I want to WILL INTO BEING.

And now...this mentally and physically wiped Mama is going to plop into bed and read her eyes to sleep.

Happy(ish) Monday, peeps.

The week can only go up from her, amiright???

Over and out.