I feel compelled to re-post this after yet another school morning of attempting to get my 9 yr old male ready for school. If I didn't already have documented proof of his mental acuity, I would have him tested, because let me tell you, he is one special snowflake.
I don't even tell him to get up, or set a clock as these are utterly ineffective. I usually drag him out of bed, stand him upright and point him to the bathroom for a shower. Oddly, this tactic is most effective as I get zero resistance. But alas, it is the easiest part of the morning, and let me just say that I've tried charts, graphs, incentives, beatings, rantings, and gnashing of teeth but to little or no avail. Here's a sample of our routine:
Me: Ethan wash your hair and use soap! (repeat 3x)
Me: Ethan get out of the shower! (repeat 3x)
Me: (Sniff test with questionably results) Ethan get your clothes on! (repeat 456x, the shower effect usually renders him catatonic, I don't know if it's the warm coziness of the water/steam or....I don't even know what...
Me: Eat! (repeat 3x)
Me: Go brush your teeth! (repeat 3x)
Me: Alright everybody MOVE OUT! (the door)
Me: Ethan go back and get your bookbag! (e-v-e-r-y d-a-y)
Me: Ethan, what's the first thing you do when you get into a vehicle?
Ethan: Huh? What? Oh yeah!! (eureka! e-v-e-r-y d-a-y)
Now, as an observer of the natural world, I am amazed at how this kid experiences each day, anew, with no prior knowledge or memory of the previous day...hmmm...a curious phenomenon. His grandparents say, "Oh, he's just so busy, his mind is somewhere else." Yeah, somewhere in special snowflake land, bless his little heart.
However, this morning was different in that his father was to take him to school. The routine went as usual except for the bookbag part. Both males exited the home, got into the vehicle....and there I stood on the sidewalk, bookbag in hand waiting to see if it would occur to either of them that the bookbag should even be a part of this little dog and pony show.
Ethan looks out the window at me and for a moment has a puzzled look on his face...wait for it....wait for it.......and....there it is, I actually saw the light bulb in his little head. Then it all became clear as mud to me, as I reflected upon the power of genetic inheritance in familial relationships.
Sometimes you just have to accept the limitations of your special snowflakeS. (as I write this, my 4 yr has spilled a cup of lemonade, a cup of water, and a container of some other such liquid, kill me now, but I digress.)
Yes, he's an honor roll student, yes he placed second in his elementary school spelling bee, and I'm pretty sure he knows more about meteorology than a professional meteorologist, but I do worry about his ability to perhaps one day function as a college student, or maybe even, dare I say, a responsible adult. So every day I pray a little prayer...For the love of all that is holy in this world, please let him get through middle school, high school, and into college!
Bless his little heart.
Me: Ethan wash your hair and use soap! (repeat 3x)
Me: Ethan get out of the shower! (repeat 3x)
Me: (Sniff test with questionably results) Ethan get your clothes on! (repeat 456x, the shower effect usually renders him catatonic, I don't know if it's the warm coziness of the water/steam or....I don't even know what...
Me: Eat! (repeat 3x)
Me: Go brush your teeth! (repeat 3x)
Me: Alright everybody MOVE OUT! (the door)
Me: Ethan go back and get your bookbag! (e-v-e-r-y d-a-y)
Me: Ethan, what's the first thing you do when you get into a vehicle?
Ethan: Huh? What? Oh yeah!! (eureka! e-v-e-r-y d-a-y)
Now, as an observer of the natural world, I am amazed at how this kid experiences each day, anew, with no prior knowledge or memory of the previous day...hmmm...a curious phenomenon. His grandparents say, "Oh, he's just so busy, his mind is somewhere else." Yeah, somewhere in special snowflake land, bless his little heart.
However, this morning was different in that his father was to take him to school. The routine went as usual except for the bookbag part. Both males exited the home, got into the vehicle....and there I stood on the sidewalk, bookbag in hand waiting to see if it would occur to either of them that the bookbag should even be a part of this little dog and pony show.
Ethan looks out the window at me and for a moment has a puzzled look on his face...wait for it....wait for it.......and....there it is, I actually saw the light bulb in his little head. Then it all became clear as mud to me, as I reflected upon the power of genetic inheritance in familial relationships.
Sometimes you just have to accept the limitations of your special snowflakeS. (as I write this, my 4 yr has spilled a cup of lemonade, a cup of water, and a container of some other such liquid, kill me now, but I digress.)
Yes, he's an honor roll student, yes he placed second in his elementary school spelling bee, and I'm pretty sure he knows more about meteorology than a professional meteorologist, but I do worry about his ability to perhaps one day function as a college student, or maybe even, dare I say, a responsible adult. So every day I pray a little prayer...For the love of all that is holy in this world, please let him get through middle school, high school, and into college!
Bless his little heart.
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