DeLappenings: Youngest Kid Wheels Off Vibes!

Okay, peeps.

Yesterday was the first Monday in weeks that didn't start with feelings of already being behind!

Woo-Freaking-Hoo!

And in case you're wondering, that's really saying something--considering Chica launched her track season, yesterday, and now has to be at school at 6:30 a.m. (translation: an earlier, heinous wake-up time for all).

Of course, it wasn't just a fluke to have a not-terrible Monday. In fact, I think there were two things that boosted the positive vibes 'round these parts:

First: my older bro is in town for a work conference this week and I got to steal him from the airport on Sunday and hold him voluntarily hostage for the night. I can't even begin to tell you how glorious some unexpected sibling time was for me. :)

And second: thanks to older bro's quick visit, I had to get my shite together, in terms of tidying up the house, ha.

To be clear: I absolutely did not go into a cleaning frenzy, but I did straighten things up and manage to clear off the kitchen counter (it's white under there!)--and catch up on laundry (holy cow, there is a bottom to the baskets).

Who knew that combo of uncluttered kitchen/ tidy(ish) house/ low laundry piles could make me feel so dang stable and gosh-darn invincible?!

Of course, the bonus-bonus to all of this is that stable (and quasi-invincible) leads to a brief moment for posting, so...LET'S. DO. THIS.

Today's topic of discussion???

MY SON. :)

Oh, my dear (not so) Little Man...how I love thee, how I feel exhausted by thee energy, and how very grateful I am to thee that thou can self-entertain when need be!

Pause for a hysterical pic of some quality time with my boy a couple weeks ago. Doodling, no less! (A Fortnite character of his choice, natch.)

No joke. Youngest kid vibes are A THING.

When I think back to a few years ago and my interaction with parents who had older kiddos and a decent age spread, I used to be like: man, that youngest kid is footloose and fancy free!! Is anybody watching them??

I mean...youngest kids always seem a little wilder a little bolder and a little older beyond their years, amiright???

And, man oh man, do I now understand why!

As a side note: after some observational and anecdotal research, I believe this is only a true vibe when a family has three or more kiddos. Specifically, this is a YOUNGEST kid thing; not a YOUNGER kid, thing.

ALL the parents I know who have two or less seem to keep it relatively together and manage to stay equally engaged for both Kid #1 and Kid #2, ha. Congratulations, amazing parents!

But, goodness, throw that Kid #3 into the mix and it seems to be a game changer and the absolute epitome of: Let it go; let it flow!

(And I say this as a pretty engaged and slightly helicopter-y parent, myself.)

I never would have thought I'd have to so quickly and readily make peace with the amount of time Little Man has to self-entertain, the milestones I allow him to hit before the girlies ever did, and the amount I have to trust him...kind of by default.

I literally can't be in all the places at once.

I can't magically make the days more than 24 hours.

I can't split myself into a handful of clones (though, wouldn't that be amazing?).

Instead, I'm resigned to a current parenting life stage of putting out the hottest fires and dealing with the squeakiest wheels.

As a result, I've never been more grateful for Little Man's intelligence, resourcefulness, and fidget tendencies that keep him constantly going and moving because, without those attributes, the poor dude would probably end up an ignored couch potato!

(I kid...but only a little).

I've also never been so grateful for the one-on-one time I have with him--both before and after school--because, outside of those brief windows (and our precious bedtime snuggle routine), it's truly a free-for-all!

Take, for example, my latest Give Up Moment (that I suppose is really a win/win for all):

I recently ripped off the bandage and sent Little Man off, alone with a friend, to ride bikes, get out some energy at the playground and return safely and unharmed...with no chaperone.

Yikes.

I never would have done this at the same age with the girlies!

And, perhaps, that's just me being overprotective--though I know many other like-minded parents who wouldn't have, either.

To be fair: this particular Give Up Moment was made a bit more comfortable by two things:

First, the little friend he went riding with is a grade older than Little Man, is a really responsible kiddo, and they're both in Robotics Club together. So the kind of trouble they might get into would probably be a hysterical brainiac type, ha.

And, second (and this might be the true clincher): I recently caved and got an AppleWatch (I know, I know; so many feelings with this one and I'll explain more in a later post). So, before Little Man zoomed off, I strapped the watch to him, gave him a time to return, and now the couple of times he's ventured off with this buddy, he's come home safely and responsibly.

And, really: isn't it a win/win for him to be outside, in the fresh air, getting exercise, and socializing with a responsible friend???

In other Little Man life updates...he is intensely enjoying his Robotics Club (as a 4th grader, this is his first year of eligibility), and we're gearing up for the crux of it all with a major competition in less than two weeks.

My son studied like crazy to take all sorts of voluntary quizzes in an attempt to be the "driver" of their group's robot and he'll actually find out today if he gets the opportunity to fill that role.

He recently decided to take a small hiatus from his Table Tennis lessons--primarily because he's been having most of his lessons solo, without any buddies his age to play with, and I can understand how that might diminish the fun a bit.

Instead, he'll be launching his first experimental round of Flag Football next month (along with a couple of buddies from school), and I kind of adore that he still loves enough sports that he doesn't really lock in on just one. He consistently toggles from soccer to basketball to table tennis to...football now, I guess!

Add in GT (Gifted & Talented), HAM (Hyper Accelerated Math), his Robotics adventures and the Spelling Bee he was selected to compete in (that's happening next week), and I tend to think this youngest, free-range kid of mine is still tracking pretty darn well, but...goodness, how I say my prayers for him every night!

If I could go back in time and reassure my younger parenting self, I'd demand that I SOAK IN all the glorious one-on-one time I enjoyed with my boy when he was a preschooler and his sisters were at school. (Or rather, enjoy it even more, because I enjoyed the heck out of it at the time!).

I'd tell myself to buy even more LEGOs to build together, take time for even more doodles, snuggle the crap out of him and NOT THINK TWICE about the optics or the "spoiling" factor of it all.

I know Little Man's time in the sun will come back around when he's once again the only kiddo under foot (don't even get me started; after attending a High School Electives Fair with Chica last night, I cannot talk about COLLEGE right now). Until then...I'll just do my best to spread out my love as best as I'm able and to appreciate this stage for all the new and different joys that it brings.

Now. Two final odds and ends...

First: This post made me want to hunt down another one from many years ago that shows Little Man and I in peak peas-in-a-pod years. I have so many core parenting memories of afternoons spent building LEGOs and listening to music. Or our morning IHOP dates, settled in our favorite booth to color and eat pancakes. I'm so grateful I had the presence of mind to enjoy it all back then. Precious times, I tell you. PRECIOUS.

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And, second: Little Man recently participated in the elementary school's inaugural Talent Showcase--not as a talent participant, but as an emcee! He was selected to be part of a dozen kiddos who acted out little skits to introduce each talent act, and I'm so proud of his work to memorize his lines and his bravery in getting up there.

Here he was in his simple Diary of a Wimpy Kid costume before leaving for the showcase. (And if that pose doesn't reiterate the "Wheels Off" title of this post, I don't know what does, ha.)