I remember when my first child was born. Pregnancy was hard, labor was harder, the nurse made it harder still but I made it and was suddenly overwhelmed by the power of my emotions as I gazed in awe and wonder at the baby girl that had somehow come from MY body. I never knew I could feel so much love and adoration for another human being. I had never realized how much that one event would change my entire life - my view on the world.
I remember when my oldest was turning eight or nine. I stood in the doorway and watched her walk down the street to school and I cried. I hadn't been prepared for how incredible that little baby would be as she grew older and developed into her own person. Once again I felt overwhelmed by awe and emotion. What an inspiration she was to me!
Now my baby is going to giving birth to her first baby - a son - in a few short months. Her beauty, intelligence and spirit are all still awing me and inspiring me to be more than what I thought I could be. She is one of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out!
But it didn't stop with her.
Each of my little babies came into this world and then grew, developed, and became their own little people. There were challenges, but I learned to try and find the blessings in those challenges. There were days I thought I wouldn't survive, I was sure they were going to kill me one way or another. But we all survived and I am now surrounded by not one, but three absolutely beautiful, intelligent, and talented daughters and am still working through having two really charming, incredible, and intelligent sons.
I'm still awed and overwhelmed on a regular basis.
Lately, however, it's been my youngest that has really been amusing me. Thomas James, known since infancy as Thomas the Loud, is one of the most creative children I have ever met. Part of it may be nature as both his parents are very artistic, part of it is definitely nurture as he could not have picked up on some of the things he has without the environment he has been in.
Thomas, in many ways, is my most challenging child. He is far too active and gets bored in seconds flat. He is very much like his mother. His mind goes faster than his mouth, I think, and his mouth almost never stops.
Thomas showed an aptitude for language at a very young age. He was about three or four when he started demanding his "trousers" instead of pants. I knew I was in trouble then!
So a couple of weeks ago his sister decided to help me out - which really did my old mommy heart good - and clean the kitchen. She really got in there and deep cleaned! Since I've been out of commission off and on, things had gotten a little more out of hand than what I was up to tackling, so her assistance was really needed. The problem with it was she was not going to let ANYONE into that kitchen. If the boys put a glass in the kitchen and it got put in the dishwasher, that was it. "I already washed your glass today. You're done," I heard her say.
With an attitude like that, I wasn't about to even dare attempt going into said kitchen for anything. So, I ordered pizza. I couldn't really afford it, but I really needed to feed my family and there weren't many other options. Malachi knew I was ordering the pizza but I hadn't mentioned it to Thom, so when he heard Malachi ask, "Have you ordered the pizza yet, Mom?" the mouth immediately started.
"Pizza? Mom, are you going to get pizza? What kind of pizza are you buying, Mom? What did you order for us?"
Let me tell you, unchecked, he can continue on like that for close to an hour without breaking to breathe.
"Oh, Thom," I responded, "I know how much you hate pizza, so I figured I'd just make you a peanut butter sandwich."
"Mom, you are my favorite Moo and you know that I love pizza. I will eat any pizza, Mom. I don't want peanut butter. What kind of pizza did you order?"
I couldn't help it, I just sat and grinned in the half-dark room and listened to him just run on and on and on. He didn't notice my smile, but Malachi did.
"As Mom just sits there smiling, Thom," quipped Malachi.
Thomas looked at me for the first time and realized that Malachi was right. I was grinning my fool head off trying not to laugh.
"OH," Thomas rolled his eyes and sighed, "I am so GULLIBLE!"
That was it, I had to laugh and I laughed and laughed and laughed!
Last Wednesday Thomas informed me that he was borrowing Malachi's CD player. I should have recognized then there was some sort of problem as the boys aren't usually the kind of brothers that share well! Thomas asked me if I would make him his own music CD. Why not? No problem! He requested Techno Smurfs and left the rest up to me.
Techno Smurfs is a story in and of itself. Thom's father is a musician. He remixed the Smurf theme song and added techno music in the background and thus we have Techno Smurfs. In all honesty, Thomas really doesn't care for most of what I have that his father recorded, but Techno Smurfs is a big hit with Thomas and some of my younger bus passengers!
I didn't realize that it would be so difficult to put together a music CD for my young son. I wanted something that would keep his interest and entertain him. He enjoys Mika and he likes STYX since I took him to the concert last summer. He sings along with Love Stinks, just like the rest of us. Even so, I wasn't quite sure what to put on his own Thomas CD.
Oh, it's a mix! Benatar, Blue Man Group, Love Stinks, Mika, a whole bunch of Disney stuff, STYX - a little bit of everything. He wanted to listen to it on the way to Salt Lake on Thursday and the CD player is dead. Dead, dead, dead! Does this stop Thomas? NO WAY!
Everyone in the family, including his brother-in-law, has apparently now heard his CD. I have not. And I have managed to forget the order and what all the songs are I put on his special CD.
"Mom," Thomas says, "thank you for making me that CD. There is one song on there that I really like. I find it relaxing."
"What is that?" I asked. I really had no idea! "How does it go?"
And in that sweet, clear little boy voice, my Thomas starts to sing, "Starry, starry night..." and there was no question just what song it was that he loved so much! Don McLean has touched yet another generation!
So we took some time on Saturday night and discussed just what the song, whose real name is Vincent, was about. We did an online search and viewed pictures of VanGogh's paintings. His self-portraits, his flowers, and his starry nights. We talked about style, how it had changed. We talked about his brother, his life and went line by line - he had them all memorized - through the song and talked about what all of it meant.
Before we started, Thomas had made a most astute comment, "Mom, I really like this song, but it makes me feel sad."
"When you learn who and what it is about, you will know why," I had responded.
When the art history lesson was over, my sweet little boy - the one that drives everyone nuts - had tears in his eyes. He asked questions to clarify what he had learned.
Wow!
From my oldest to my youngest, I have five miraculous people I brought into this life and one fabulous addition who is married to my daughter. Who woulda thunk it!
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