Day: May 29, 2008

It amazes me that I can have a child come up to me asking for a drink of water and one look at the child tells me that what the child really needs is a pot to vomit in even though the child has been fine all day. I gave Patch both the water and the pot. Within ten minutes my instinct was proved correct. I’ve learned to listen to that inner voice which tells me these things. I can know that Gleek needs a quiet time, that Link needs to go to bed early, that Kiki’s emotional upset will be greatly alleviated by eating, that the neighbor’s child really needs to go potty now. This instinct is slowly gained over years of experience with children and my kids in particular. I know I did not start this parenting adventure with that instinctive voice. I was constantly stressed and mystified about whether something was a normal stage or cause for panic. Unfortunately for new-mom Sandra, the mother’s instinct can’t be learned from reading books. Instead I had to rely on the instinct of friends with more (or at lease different) experience than me. Today I am glad for knowledge born of accumulated experience, because I only had a pot to wash instead of a floor to mop.