Random Thoughts on Eamon Wolfe

1) Kids like to say “no” even when they don’t mean it. The other day we took Eamon to the doctor’s office to have his frenulum looked at and prodded (you know, that bit of skin that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth). The nurse kept trying to get Eamon to stick out his tongue, and he started shaking his head back and forth—the first time he has ever learned to say “no.” Now he’s doing it all the time, whether he means it or not. In fact, any statement that starts with “Do you…” earns a furious headshake. I even asked him this morning, “Do you know your name is Eamon?” and he shook his head no, no, no. Whatever, kiddo. I guess this means the Terrible Twos are officially starting, though.

For the record, Eamon said "no" to every piece of food on his plate this day, but once I put them on there, ate most of it anyway.

2) Eamon might just be the world’s answer to pollution. When you take him to a park, he’s far more concerned with picking up and disposing of trash than he is playing. He instinctively seems to know what is trash and what is not, though I don’t think we’ve ever officially taught him. It’s not just at the park, either. This morning, I accidentally left a stack of paper napkins on the table, which Eamon managed to reach. He threw them in the air in a rain of paper towels over and over, squealing excitedly the whole time. I ran to get the camera, but by the time I came back, fun-time was apparently over and he was seriously picking up each individual napkin and putting it in the trash because it was some sort of toddler self-induced clean-up time. Again I ask you, internet: where on Earth did this child come from?

Sometimes I think he makes the messes just so that he can enjoy the fun of cleaning them up afterwards.

Someone had the audacity to leave a plastic bottle at the park (yes, we sanitize his hands afterwards).

3) I am not actually Super Mom, after all. At some point, I got it into my head that it wouldn’t be THAT difficult to get my doctorate while working full time and having a child running around the house. And it’s not even the exhaustion, the lack of sleep, the high stress levels, or the total absence of “Me Time” that really bother me: it’s those days when I HAVE to do work, and I don’t get to see Eamon much. Aaron is great and wonderful and supportive and takes Eamon out all these wonderful places so that I can do work, but the thing that really gets me? It’s thinking, “Wow. Eamon had a fantastic day and learned new things and experienced life, and I wasn’t there.” And then I start to think about how he only gets one childhood and I’m missing it and I start to get really miserable but then I remember that I have another paper to read and there really isn’t time to be self-indulgently miserable, and anyway, it’s just one.more.year (two if you count my dissertation). Okay, moving on from this topic…

At some point, Aaron got Eamon to actually play at the park, and not just clean up others' trash...

4) JUST KIDDING! On the SAME topic: the blog might not have much written for the next three weeks, unless Aaron decides to write something after all. I’m starting a three week class that meets every Monday-Thursday from 4:30-8:00, and then taking another class that meets Friday afternoons. It sounds miserable, and I fully expect that it will be, but at least it’s an entire course finished in 3 weeks, and by June 5 the worst of the summer classes will be over. And Eamon, well, will hopefully remember his mother after that.

See you June 5, Eamon! I love you!