Just a Game

He's five, will be six in June.  The time had come to introduce SIP to a sport.  For some families I imagine this isn't such a big deal.  I've seen their kids at church, school, birthday parties...all doing what they're supposed to be doing even if they're not having the greatest time.  This is not SIP.  We drag him kicking and screaming to school programs, summer camp, vacation Bible school, Sunday school, birthday parties...Many of you reading this blog have witnessed SIP's propensity to refuse certain social situations and have helped him cross such thresholds and some of you have watched us take the great parental walk of shame...back to the parking lot into the car after giving up the battle. 

I'm drawing the line at sports.  This I will not let him refuse.  This battle I have to win.

So I dragged him kicking and screaming to baseball practice for the first time a few weeks ago.  It was horrible.  He refused to participate and sat by the back fence in the grass swatting at gnats and cursing my name.  He then took off his shoes and threw them over the fence.  He also took off his glove and threw it over the fence.  It wasn't long before the sand gnats got the best of him and he came looking for me.  He raised his little anxiety ridden face to mine and implored, "I'm really trying to find my manners."

"Then I will help you," I replied, "Now go get your things and we will do this together."

Every practice since then, SIP has done great and though he won't admit it yet, he seems to enjoy baseball.  In the face of our soft culture, it would have been fine for me to give up, perhaps encouraged for the sake of sparing SIP's feelings.  Clearly he's not interested in sports, many say, don't force him.  It's just a game...

SIP's First Joke...Sort of

Last night SIP and his Dad prepared for bath time.  Dad ran the water in the tub as SIP undressed and chattered away as he can never do just ONE thing at a time. 


"Dad," he said, "Do you know which bug is the friendliest of all the bugs?" 


"No," Cale replied "Which bug is that?" 


"The Love Bug," SIP said. 


"What a great joke!" Cale exclaimed proud of the little guy and his growing intellect.


"It's not a joke," said SIP sternly, "It really is the nicest bug."

SIP's Way

October Log:    
     I am a student of Caesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer.  He teaches people how to develop healthier happier pets through exercise, discipline, and affection. I've found These principles are quite effective when put into practice for humans also.

     While SIP's transition to kindergarten has gone very well, it hasn't gone off without a hitch.  Primarily, he comes home very grumpy.  I've been trying to figure out ways to curb this unpleasant situation and an epiphany hit me last week...I should try walking him home in the  afternoons.  Perhaps this would help him burn off some energy and give him a chance to wind down from the long school day.
     We live half a mile from his school, which doesn't sound like a long walk until you've walked that distance with SIP who has no sense of urgency and is prone to meander.  So each afternoon I drive part of the way to pick him up and we walk a little ways down the street to our car.      
     I determined to put my new theory to the test and we walked that afternoon the entire way, a full mile for me round trip which gave me some much needed exercise as well.  It worked like a charm! For several days we made walking a regular part of our routine and his afternoon behavior improved dramatically.

     After a week of walking home from school, on Friday morning I told him I would take him to Wal-Mart after school to spend the ten dollar allowance he has saved up for three weeks.  On the way out the door he turned around and said, "Don't forget to bring the car though.  I don't want to walk to Wal-Mart!"

Jesus and the woman at the well

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water (he said pointing to the well) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst." -John 4:13

Yesterday, riding home from church, Cale asked SIP what he learned in Sunday school.  SIP showed us the famous picture of Jesus and the woman by the well and said, "The woman gave Jesus some water."  "Oh she did?" replied Cale, "and what did Jesus give her?"  SIP wasn't sure so Cale went on, "He offered her a special kind of water so that she would never be thirsty again.  Isn't that amazing?"  SIP said, "Yes, but she's going to have to pee a lot."    

If God didn't have a sense of humor, he wouldn't have made children. 

Mother Cardinal

June 16, 2008

Here He Comes!

2008

2009

 

 

2010

 

2011

 

2012

 

2013

 

And there he goes...

 

 

 

Like a thief in the night, fall had stolen her summer and it stung in her soul, the passing of another season.

 

-C.C. Pruitt

 

 

 



 

The Good Side of the Force

Lately Sip has been into Star Wars.  The story fills his thoughts throughout the day and he tries to work out the intricacies of the characters, the Force, and the conflicts.  He asks many questions about good guys and bad guys, the difference between clones and droids, and where did Obi Wan's body go when Vader slayed him in the Death Star.  All great questions, and good ways for me to discuss valor, good versus evil, and the Force as all our collective energy in the universe with a five year old. 

I tried to explain that when Obi Wan died, he instantly became a part of the Force, kind of like going to Heaven where we live for eternity.  This made him extremely concerned about Anakin/Darth Vader's salvation, as his was a very complicated life and he did so many terrible things before turning back to the good side of the force at the end of Return of the Jedi. 

Yesterday while riding in the car, when most profound epiphanies seem to hit him, Sip said, "It's a good thing that Vader turned to the good side of the force right before he died."  I smiled and said, "It sure is.  Even someone as bad as Vader was given grace."

Sip was quiet a moment and said, "and he got his hair back."

Porter's Plane

Here is Porter’s plane.  Porter is my cousin born in April this year.  The painting is meant to go in his vintage airplane themed nursery.  As I often like to pair words with art, I added a statement by Helen Keller when she commented on her experience of flying around the world at the age of 74 in 1955, “It’s wonderful to climb the liquid mountains of the sky, behind me and before me is God and I have no fears.”

I can’t think of a better description of human infancy than God behind us and before us.  I love that those words were spoken by one of the most vulnerable people of our time, unable to see, unable to hear, but more than any of us, capable of feeling the presence of God. 

So Porter, here is your plane.  I’ve left it blank for a reason.  I don’t know how it will look through your life.  Maybe one day a star, rank, and your name might be painted across it.  Or perhaps it will say something like Hawaiian Air as you travel the world to exotic places.  It may just read, Southwest as you make your way across America.  But no matter what kind of plane you fly or where it takes you, God will always be behind you, ahead of you, and with you throughout your journey.