I think one of those iconic parenting moments is the school performance. The homemade costumes, the one little one who is adorably off beat, and the sweet songs all just explode with adorable kid-ness. D had his first performance last weekend and it did not disappoint. From his little Australian outback costume to the Waltzing Mathilda, watching my son and his class on stage was one of my favorite things, ever.
Today I am grateful for:
1. My former life as an English teacher.
Before D's school performance, I helped set up. The school had recruited lots of high school honor students to help with set up. They were polite, sweet kids who were wearing their school honor roll shirt. The back said: NOBLESSE OBLIGE.
Most people may not remember this phrase, but I do. Noblesse Oblige means, essentially, that the nobility must conduct themselves in a certain way because with great privilege comes great responsibility. Now it's almost always used ironically in the US to make fun of a wealthy person who is humoring the "little people". So, here we have these kids, who live in one of the wealthiest cities in Texas, whose public high school is in the top 25 in the country proudly proclaiming their elevated status to the world, without irony. Behind that, there was a teacher who approved this. That teacher must think these kids are assholes, right? Why else would they look the other way while kids who are claiming to be intelligent, wear these shirts WHILE THEY VOLUNTEER? I can't imagine they haven't volunteered somewhere where there are people who are less fortunate than them. I'm grateful I was a high school teacher and I remember what this means, because if my kids ever come home with a shirt like that, someone is getting a call. There's a fine line between being knowing what you have and being arrogant, and I feel really bad for any of those kids that don't realize what they are saying about themselves with that shirt. Wait, no I don't. They are in the honor society. They can look that shit up.
2. I win.
One of the things I feel like I fail at as a mom is chronicling our lives. Everyone I know has professional photos taken quarterly, a completely updated blog with amazing pictures and almost uncanny recall about everything baby and kid. I am seriously behind. I'm catching up, slowly. We had our first professional pictures in a year and a half taken last weekend and the first of all four of us. And I occasionally write this blog, which is actually my Doogie Howser computer diary, if I'm being honest. I've only told my sister and my husband about it, so hey Jess and Rich!
But I'm off topic. One of the best things, one of the things I do not want to forget is the cutest little battle that goes on in my house a couple of times a week. Someday D is going to read this and get really pissed that I thought this was so cute because this is genuinely distressing for him and always, always ends with him red faced and screaming.
It starts with D (big brother) telling W (little brother) that he wins. It can be anything. They can be racing around the couch or W can be in the other room oblivious to the contest. But little W is scrappy. And in true little brother fashion, he has learned the one phrase that trumps all: "no, I win". Like I said, W has no idea what winning is even, he just knows when D says "I win" that means he says "no, I win". For him it's like the funniest 2 year old game. Like wheels on the bus, you repeat the whole thing over and over. But D will not let this stand and gets madder and redder and louder until there are tears and protests about who actually won. It's just so cute. And I love it so much. Sorry, future D. I do. It's adorable, and I'm grateful I get to listen to it.
