Sunday, May 24, 2009

Micah Man is 2 and one half

It's simply amazing. That we survived half of the terrible two! Micah can definitely be very trying with his insistent "No, Mommy! I NOT do that!" Or his public tantrums whenever we leave a play date. Or his bedtime delaying tactics, his pickiness with food, and just his downright defiance when we ask him to do something. It can take 10 minutes (or more) to get him dressed and I grit my teeth because he doesn't want help, but he can't do it himself. When he used to hardly get spanked, he probably gets a good dose of discipline once, sometimes twice a day.

Daily, I get into these power struggles and feel I have a moral right to win them. Most of the time, the harder I push, the more my toddler will resist and the more frustrated I get. I am learning perspective though, and instead of giving the terrible two's the bad reputation it gets, I am seriously trying to embrace it. And the best advice I've ever been given as a control-freak mom is to just lower my expectations.

There is something quite beautiful about this age. To name a few, Micah is a little person with thoughts, opinions, and a will of his own. If I ask on a hot summer day to wear his sandals, he vehemently says, 'No, I want to wear my NEW shoes.' He tells me exactly what he wants to eat and that the food on his plate is not acceptable. And it's not just any book at nap time, it's a specific title book and tells me which shelf it's on so that I may reach up to get it. He reports in detail to his dad what he did that day, and who he did it with. He's refreshingly honest.

And that baby whose needs I catered to day and night, now wants to care for me too. One night, I was staring off into space, and he turned to me and asked, 'Mommy, what are you thinking?' I couldn't believe it. I've been trying to get Patrick to ask me that question for six years! And every night at dinner, he always asks his dad, 'How was your day, Daddy?' So endearing.

And he just loves to learn! Teachable moments are everywhere at this age, and I don't need to worry about pursuing formal learning experiences (that's good because we're too poor right now to send him to preschool) but Micah speaks like 8-word sentences and he conjugates! Our conversation the other day blew me away.

"Micah, Will you eat?"
"No, I won't."
"You will."
"No, I can't."
"I think you can."
"No, I won't."
(I put some strawberries in front of him, and he immediate starts eating.)
"Hmmh...I think you are."
(licks his lips)
"I think I am."

The best part is that my two year old is teaching me some of my most important lessons. One day Micah was driving me crazy most of the morning and I was so frustrated with his behavior. At the end of my rope, I yelled at him harshly. And then I saw his shoulders drop, and his spirit just crushed. I had never yelled at him like that. I walked over to him, got down to his level, and said, 'Micah, Mommy is so sorry I yelled at you. I am such a bad mommy.' And he looks up with big tears in his eyes and says to me, 'that's okay mommy, I was a bad Micah.' And then the tears came because my son taught me grace and forgiveness!

So, I guess the two's aren't so terrible after all. Okay, maybe a bit premature...check back with me in the next six months! :)

1 comment:

Mom and Dad said...

These are the true joys that make memories in your heart that will live there forever and make staying home with your children the most rewarding job in the world. You used words Micah could understand and it touched his heart--and then he touched yours, what a blessing. Thank you for sharing that experience with us it touch our hearts also. Mom & Dad

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