When people see you with kids they like to throw advice at you or give you suggestions on raising these tiny humans that belong to you. I always found that kinda strange. I mean you wouldn't walk up to someone who was overweight and eating ice cream and suggest they try a salad. It seems along the same lines of something so personal. I feel like now with two kids I'm used to the random advice and words of wisdom while brushing past old ladies in the grocery store or out and about. I am always polite and I listen. I mostly find it funny. Otto and I ran into the cutest old man at the zoo last week. Otto was trying to see a spider and the man picked him up and started showing him all the critters. I swear it wasn't creepy. I was right there and he was beyond sweet. The grandpa just oozed off him. Otto just loved him. When he put him down Otto was on the next thing so he walked with us for a little bit. Turns out his son was the director of the zoo so I imagine he just hangs out there all day and tells people about the animals. He raised 4 boys and shared some funny stuff. Otto kept reaching for him. Kids just get it sometimes. Mom life, hanging out with old dudes at the zoo.
The other day in target this lady appeared out of nowhere. She wasn't old but clearly had grown kids. Otto was playing on my phone cause Target with two kids is hell, brutal HELL and I will do anything to keep him busy. She made a comment about how amazing kids are with phones. I'm always cringe when someone mentions the phone cause people (especially those without kids or those that have way older kids) get way judgy. We got into a quick conversation about how hard being a mom is. She was joking about all the different moms you meet when you first have kids and how you are always wondering if you are doing it all right. Basically how I felt with Olive. Just how we compare and always freak out if our kid isn't doing what the other kids are doing. I get that. With Olive I was always worried. Am I stimulating her enough? Can she count high enough? Did she eat enough veggies? And with Otto I'm like he is alive today. High five for me! She started talking about elementary school and how you start meeting these other moms that are just so different. And how they think their kids should be peaking in like 5th grade. She said that was so crazy for her and how she just didn't get how people didn't let their kids be kids. I don't know why it struck me so much. It wasn't any profound advice or words of wisdom but it was like this next step in parenting, the school years that happen to be quickly approaching. They just need to be kids. I mean I get all that of course but sometimes there are these weird gentle reminders of things, even from strangers. Olive is growing up fast. It's her world, it's everything that she is exposed to and I can't slow it down but I can make sure she gets some good doses of "kid" things and embraces whatever she can and wants to. Bottomline let them be kids.
Photos from the month in random order.
