Underestimating

Early in the week (A) brought some donuts home as a treat for (a).  At nearly one, (b) is discovering he has quite the ability to pester his big brother by taking his things, so when he was giggling and trying to swipe the donut from (a) I went ahead and gave him his own.  He only has 2 teeth, so I didn’t really expect him to do much more than gnaw on it, but it was going to keep him occupied while I made some eggs for the “real” part of breakfast.  I few minutes later I looked over to realize the donut was gone.  I assumed he dropped it, so I started checking the floor and the seat of the highchair but, nope, the donut was gone and he was grinning from one frosting covered ear to the other and waving his sticky hands.  Sure enough, Mr. Two-Teeth had devoured an entire regular size donut.  Some days I totally underestimate his appetite.

On Tuesday, (A) took a vacation day and we had a little state part adventure with several members of his family.  As a part of the adventure we did some kayaking on a lake in the park.  It was a gentle lake with no current and very reasonable in size, so it was a perfect place for (a) to have his first kayaking adventure.  He was in the front of his daddy’s two-person kayak and I was following them on my own.  I was enjoying the site of how cute they were together but because the way the sound traveled on the water I was really enjoying overhearing their conversation.  Before long they were teasing each other and swapping humorous jabs.  I was enjoying listening and I soon heard (a) retort to his daddy a one liner dripping with sarcasm in which he put up his hands and used “air quotes” correctly… he is four.  I called up to (A) to make sure I had heard the exchange correctly, and through his own laughter he assured me that yes, I had heard his comment and seen his gesture correctly.  Some days I completely underestimate his sense of humor and ability to communicate beyond his age.

Last week we were in Indiana for a few days and (a) made the big decision to graduate to riding his full-size pony.  Up to this point, he has spent most of his riding time on his little 40-year-old Shetland pony, Sugarfoot.  While he is adorable, sweet, and SOOO patient with our cowboy…he is OLD for a pony and SUPER slow.  It has been a wonderful learning experience, and I am so thankful for that sweet pony, but if (a) wants to become a more proficient rider he needed to make the transition to his younger more active pony.  She is also sweet and an excellent learning pony for him, but she is less experienced and as a result sometimes is spooked by noise or sudden movements.  He rode for several hours and different excursions during our 2 days at the farm and a few of those times Lilly (the pony) was spooked by something and did a little “dancing” as he called it as she jumped nervously.  I was right there with him each time, and each time I held by breath expecting he would get upset and decide he wanted to get off.  Instead, he surprised me by staying calm, holding on, being brave, and taking it in stride.  I was so proud, but I realized that some days I completely underestimate how much he is growing into a “big kid” who is capable of handling more things and doing it with his brave face on. 

As I watch the two of them grow and change every day, I realize that I completely underestimated the ability my heart had to love.  I underestimated the amount of joy they would bring me, the amount of patience they would teach me, and the amount of fun we would have has a family.

“Children are God’s love-gift; they are heaven’s generous reward.” Psalm 127:3