Okay, so it being the holiday season I thought I would mention my holiday story for the 06. Yesterday morning, I was getting ready and I heard my five year old daughter having an absolute fit. I was already running late and my patience was a bit thin so I was like "what is it?" and she said, near tears, "I have to find my reindeer shirt!".

She was already dressed in the clothes my wife had laid out for her the night before and I just did not have the time to deal with it so I told her to hold her horses and I would see if we could find it. So I get ready and the clock is ticking and she is still so upset so I look everywhere for that darn thing and can't find it and she's crying about how today was the Christmas party at her little pre-school and that EVERYBODY would be wearing her reindeer shirt but her.

Now I didn't know about it and, more importantly my wife didn't know about it, so I highly doubted there was a Christmas party that day and also that each and every child would be wearing a reindeer shirt. But I kept looking and I was getting frustrated and was about two seconds from telling my daughter to get to the car and wear what she was wearing, which was fine. But she seemed to have completely convinced herself that this reindeer shirt was important so finally I break down and call my wife at her work and, of course, being the keeper of all knowledge, she knows the exact coordinates of the shirt.

So we find it and my daughter quickly changes and I realize what the shirt is. It was something she apparently made in art class and it was the cutest little hand-painted reindeer.

So I take her to school and darn if there is not a sign out front that there was a Christmas party that day and that gosh darn every last kid was wearing a reindeer shirt. And when she went into her classroom and everyone was asking to see her shirt and she had this happy contented smile on her face like all was right with the world. And I about lost it.

It was such a simple thing but, if I would have made her wear what she had on instead of finding that reindeer sweatshirt, the day would have gone so much different for her. The look of happiness on her face when I left the school made all the struggles of the morning seem meaningless and I will probably remember that moment for a very long time as one of those great "small moments".
[Edited 12/14/06 21:08pm]
[Edited 12/14/06 22:32pm]

Awww...so next time instead of telling her to hold her horses you can tell her to hold her reindeer.



That's a sweet story, GLIG.

where's luv4all7 to tell you to break that shit up so i can read it??

I love kids

we learn so much from them

i read it... and it was lovely

OY


That shit is impossible to read that way.
Great story if you can go through it though



Okay, so it being the holiday season I thought I would mention my holiday story for the 06. Yesterday morning, I was getting ready and I heard my five year old daughter having an absolute fit. I was already running late and my patience was a bit thin so I was like "what is it?" and she said, near tears, "I have to find my raindeer shirt!".

She was already dressed in the clothes my wife had laid out for her the night before and I just did not have the time to deal with it so I told her to hold her horses and I would see if we could find it. So I get ready and the clock is ticking and she is still so upset so I look everywhere for that darn thing and can't find it and she's crying about how today was the Christmas party at her little pre-school and that EVERYBODY would be wearing her reindeer shirt but her.

Now I didn't know about it and, more importantly my wife didn't know about it, so I highly doubted there was a Christmas party that day and also that each and every child would be wearing a reindeer shirt. But I kept looking and I was getting frustrated and was about two seconds from telling my daughter to get to the car and wear what she was wearing, which was fine. But she seemed to have completely convinced herself that this reindeer shirt was important so finally I break down and call my wife at her work and, of course, being the keeper of all knowledge, she knows the exact coordinates of the shirt.

So we find it and my daughter quickly changes and I realize what the shirt is. It was something she apparently made in art class and it was the cutest little hand-painted reindeer.

So I take her to school and darn if there is not a sign out front that there was a Christmas party that day and that gosh darn every last kid was wearing a reindeer shirt. And when she went into her classroom and everyone was asking to see her shirt and she had this happy contented smile on her face like all was right with the world. And I about lost it.

It was such a simple thing but, if I would have made her wear what she had on instead of finding that reindeer sweatshirt, the day would have gone so much different for her. The look of happiness on her face when I left the school made all the struggles of the morning seem meaningless and I will probably remember that moment for a very long time as one of those great "small moments".

Imago said:

Now that I can read it.

Adorable.

emm said:

I guess a paragraph break or two would have been helpful, huh?

And to think I have a Master's in English.

It just kind of poured out in one big blob as I wrote it but it does look like a big chunk of text when it's all sprawled out like that.

were the reindeer antlers on her shirt made out of her handprints??

Imago said:

With thanks to Imago I have gone back and made it a tad easier to read.

emm said:

Yes, they were actually. My daughter did a good job on it.

My father still has all these stories about when I was young. His stories seem to be along the genre of "Brian overcoming fear". The time that he waited patiently while I conquered my fear to slide down this particular slide in the playground, the time he convinced me to ride this huge roller coaster that I had the time of my life on etc. And I guess as I journey through the path of fatherhood I am collecting these stories of my own. These little events that mean so little and so much at the same time. I want my children to be able to go back and see that at times that they really needed to be I was supportive and encouraging. It's hard some times being just a person who has worries and concerns (like being late for work) to shift gears into "parent mode" but damn if it isn't so worth it.

lovely story.

it's tough growing up... and in order to let our kids do so, we parents need to choose our battles, don't we?

very heart-warming story. i'm trying to keep life at home as slow & simple as possible, to allow for these kinds of moments.

I find it really interesting that this thread is posted directly under "sex toys...yay or nay"

bucketofbouncyballs said:

That has become the thread that will not die.

That's a sweet story

That's darling.


See, I'd be such a terrible parent. . . I'm afriad I would have sent her azz to school in some loser non-reindeer shirt and hated myself for all of eternity once I saw the other kids.

that is so sweet . there are just some things with kids where you just have to let things go and take your time, even when your busy or rushed. this world is so fast-paced, little voices need to be heard

brownsugar said:

so true, so true....that was one of the sweetest stories i've heard all week

Lovely story. Kids amaze me sometimes.
There is so much to learn from them.

M

All this thread did is make me kinda resentful towards your initial coldness.

CinisterCee said:

Coldness towards my daughter? I was never cold to her. But she was throwing an absolute fit and, as many five years olds do, fits are not entirely uncommon. She loses her gum, can't find her little ballet shoes, has the hiccups...any number of things can set her off. I am not patting myself on the back for finding her shirt...I'm merely glad that I was able in some little way to tell the difference between this and other times that she lost her head over small things. In the end, my daughter does not lie, I know this of her, and even though there were no other indicators of a party with reindeer shirts her belief broke through my need for maintaining routine. And I'm grateful.

Going back and reading, I guess anyone could interpret it in different ways but I am NEVER cold to my children.
[Edited 12/15/06 19:04pm]

GottaLetitgo said:

I know exactly where you are coming from.

Nothing you said could be interpreted as cold....well, to a parent anyway.

this is the cutest lil story that i've eva read

JustErin said:

Yeah I'm not a dad. I think it was the "hold your horses" part that I took offense to.

CinisterCee said:

My daughter is all about drama, like, I assume, many other 5 year olds are. I know I was. My job in the morning is to get myself and her ready so she can be at her school at 8:30 and I can be at my job at 9:00. Probably 3 of the 5 days of the week, I'll be in the shower with shampoo in my eyes and my lovely daughter will bang on the door and go "Daddy, I can't find my (fill in object here)!" And it's never calm, it's always as is if the foundation of the world has come apart at the seams. This morning didn't seem any different which is why the margin of error was so small in a case like this. "Hold your horses" or "Reset" or "Chill little girl" are about all I can say to her until I can investigate the disaster du jour.

Cinister, I didn't want to come off like I had beef with you or anything because I don't. I've only been a parent for 5 years and it's not like it comes with an instruction manual or anything, I work my way through it and do the best I can and there are always things I can improve on. A five year old throwing a temper tantrum is like the advanced calculus of parenting but I do the best I can.
[Edited 12/16/06 4:46am]

CinisterCee said:

Are you serious?

I'm not a parent either but I know how kids can be. When they decide to throw a tantrum in a big way, it is not just beyond managable - it's chaos and mayhem!

To say "hold your horses" in an effort to calm down the situation is a reaction that's so balanced and patient that many parents would be in awe if they saw it.

Kids need lots and lots of love and tenderness but they need boundaries too. Hell, they don't just need them, they want them. That's why they're testing the limits; they want to know what is right and what is acceptable. Kids without boundaries in their lives become restless, confused and out of control.

Judging by his account of the events, I think Gotta handled it the best way he could.



spelling edit
[Edited 12/16/06 4:59am]