Just a Little Brag
I'm gonna brag on Alexa for just a second. I recently became very aware of this trait of hers, and in this day and age . . . it's actually rare and pretty praise worthy.
She is amazing at: taking a boring situation and not being bored or miserable.
The other day we went out to dinner. We were sitting at our table and no one had cell phones or technology out. I am pretty strict about that for Andrew and I. (Obviously- as Doug is his own adult self- he can make his own rules. But he follows along with the cell phone rule). I noticed a family with a young child- still sitting in the high chair, soooooo 18 month-ish? The parents had an iPhone propped up against a water glass, and the child was watching a cartoon. The entire meal. Now- there were most likely factors I am not aware of- so I'm trying to not be judgmental, but I won't lie that infuriates me. (and therefore I am obviously being judgmental). I ate with toddlers. I get it. In fact- when Alexa was young we really didn't go out to eat much because it just wasn't worth it. I get eating with young children isn't fun, but ughhhh!!! I HATE seeing kids in grocery carts or strollers, or at restaurants with technology. Those are pivotal moments for conversation, teaching patience, adding to their vocabulary, or noticing their environment. They are not always fun or easy. At all. I carried Alexa though many a store in a football hold, while she was screaming, I get it. I do.
When Alexa was 1 years old to about 6 years old, she had to sit through days of boring baseball tournaments. She may have been at a baseball field for 8 hours at a time (sometimes longer). I almost never brought an iPad. I brought a wagon full of: toys and snacks. It wasn't easy to pack. However, I have recently discovered that because she's had to sit through long hours of being bored- she's really great at entertaining herself, with virtually nothing, now.
Yesterday morning, we volunteered at a community 5K. When we got to the intersection we were blockading, we had to wait about 45 minutes before the race started. We were sitting on a street corner at 7am for about 45 minutes (there are so many jokes I wanted to make- but she's not old enough, so I kept them inside my head). Here's what she did, she played with sticks. As she is totally different than Andrew (who would still probably turn sticks into some kind of weapon), her sticks became art materials. First she was coloring imaginary pictures and each stick represented a different color. Then I remembered I had a piece of paper in my pocket, and she decided to draw pictures by bearing down on the road, to get textured rubbings. We looked at dogs walking by. We talked about how she would redecorate the outside of different houses (I came to the observation- Alexa watches a LOT of HGTV, as she recommended a house paint their brick, and put up different shutters, and plant shrubs. hahahahaha). She didn't complain once. She didn't whine about being hungry or having to go to the bathroom. She just sat there, happily chattering and "making" art.
She is amazing at: taking a boring situation and not being bored or miserable.
The other day we went out to dinner. We were sitting at our table and no one had cell phones or technology out. I am pretty strict about that for Andrew and I. (Obviously- as Doug is his own adult self- he can make his own rules. But he follows along with the cell phone rule). I noticed a family with a young child- still sitting in the high chair, soooooo 18 month-ish? The parents had an iPhone propped up against a water glass, and the child was watching a cartoon. The entire meal. Now- there were most likely factors I am not aware of- so I'm trying to not be judgmental, but I won't lie that infuriates me. (and therefore I am obviously being judgmental). I ate with toddlers. I get it. In fact- when Alexa was young we really didn't go out to eat much because it just wasn't worth it. I get eating with young children isn't fun, but ughhhh!!! I HATE seeing kids in grocery carts or strollers, or at restaurants with technology. Those are pivotal moments for conversation, teaching patience, adding to their vocabulary, or noticing their environment. They are not always fun or easy. At all. I carried Alexa though many a store in a football hold, while she was screaming, I get it. I do.
When Alexa was 1 years old to about 6 years old, she had to sit through days of boring baseball tournaments. She may have been at a baseball field for 8 hours at a time (sometimes longer). I almost never brought an iPad. I brought a wagon full of: toys and snacks. It wasn't easy to pack. However, I have recently discovered that because she's had to sit through long hours of being bored- she's really great at entertaining herself, with virtually nothing, now.
Yesterday morning, we volunteered at a community 5K. When we got to the intersection we were blockading, we had to wait about 45 minutes before the race started. We were sitting on a street corner at 7am for about 45 minutes (there are so many jokes I wanted to make- but she's not old enough, so I kept them inside my head). Here's what she did, she played with sticks. As she is totally different than Andrew (who would still probably turn sticks into some kind of weapon), her sticks became art materials. First she was coloring imaginary pictures and each stick represented a different color. Then I remembered I had a piece of paper in my pocket, and she decided to draw pictures by bearing down on the road, to get textured rubbings. We looked at dogs walking by. We talked about how she would redecorate the outside of different houses (I came to the observation- Alexa watches a LOT of HGTV, as she recommended a house paint their brick, and put up different shutters, and plant shrubs. hahahahaha). She didn't complain once. She didn't whine about being hungry or having to go to the bathroom. She just sat there, happily chattering and "making" art.
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