Seeing things from the “other side”

It is always funny when the kids do things that remind me of my childhood…

For instance, March is Reading Month for Madi’s school, so we have been filling out these paper crayons with the books that we have read together. She is so excited about turning them in that she doesn’t want to put them in her backpack, but wants to hold them tight for the whole three minute ride to school. We also trekked to the library for the first time in months, so that she could get some “new” books. It was so cute to watch her scanning the (mostly picked over EGR) shelves to pick out her stack of books to take home.

Well, her love of reading reminds me of myself when I was in fourth grade. We did this reading contest called “Read around the World” where we had these little hot air balloons that we could move around this huge world map as we read more and more books. I remember moving around the map like crazy…living up to my nickname, “Reading Rachel”.

Then there is Parker – or “Dubs” as he likes to call himself. (He actually responds quicker if you call him Dubs..just a little FYI) On Monday, he came down to the laundry room to “help” me do the laundry, which involved pushing the wet clothes into the dryer along with opening and shutting the dryer door. Well, one of the times where he shut the door, a pair of pants got caught in the door, and we broke the door start switch in the process of opening it back up. It was totally an accident, albeit an unfortunate one, but it was so frustrating, especially when I had to pay the $80 repair bill.

It reminded me of my clumsiness when I was younger, perhaps everyone goes through that stage, but I was especially prolific at breaking dishes. One Christmas, I broke one of my Mom’s special holiday place settings, and I distinctly remember having to go to Bon-Ton and buy a new one to replace it. I think I was more careful with the dishes after that, because I didn’t want to have to keep running out and replacing broken plates and cups!

I suppose this is only the beginning of associating childhood experiences with what the kids are doing…especially once they hit school, sports, friendships, music lessons all full stride. I have to admit that it is a little spooky, but it definitely makes me see things from the “other side” – what it must have been like for my parents watching me read all the time or teaching me responsibility when I was careless. Now I get to to do those things for my kids…crazy how that happens.