Rube Goldberg Parenting

I ran across this video by OK GO and it made me realize that this kind of "Rube Goldberg" experiment is a lot like parenting. How so? Let me count the ways...

1. Parenting is a series of simple tasks that we manage to make much more complicated than we need to.
2. One small action can have an enormous impact on our environment.
3. It is always EXTREMELY messy.
4. Many valuable items are destroyed in the process.
5. Despite all of the above things...It sure can be alot of fun.

But in a Rube Goldberg experiment like the ones the OK GO guys have set up, everything has to go just right in order for it to work. And that, thank goodness, is where the similarity ends. Parenting is about relationship, not destination. It is constantly learning and growing alongside your child so that when mistakes happen...and they do happen...you can respond to them in the best way possible.

Unplugged

I think I may have found the key to happiness last night. No, it wasn't the warmed Krispy Kreme donut I inhaled while no one was looking - (oh, come on, you know you've done that too). It was something far more simple and even more unexpected.

I unplugged.

I completely and totally turned my back on the 21st century. I closed my laptop, turned off the phone, hid the remote control, and curled up on the couch with (gasp!) a book. It was very strange at first. It was eerily quiet. Then I started hearing things that normally I tune out. I heard Hannah humming "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" while she scribbled away on her math problems. I heard Brandon scratch his head and sigh aloud as he struggled to come up with a clever ending to his Language Arts assignment. I heard Hal giggle to himself when he read a quote from the book he is reading.

It was my own little symphony of sounds to enjoy. I couldn't help myself. I just stopped reading and stared at the three of them in wonder. They were all so different, yet so alike. Their heads were all cocked in the same position and I swear to you, both Hannah and Hal's feel were keeping time to some imaginary drummer. It was then that Brandon snapped me out of my moment by looking up and pronouncing with disgust. "Ug, Mom! You have that ooey, gooey look on your face. You aren't going to try and kiss me, are you?"