Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Trapeze Artist

Nothing erodes my confidence faster than a 'Mother of the Year' moment. In public. When I have one in the privacy of my own home or car, I dust myself and the boys off, have a little chuckle and move on. Making a mental note to never again think... "oh they won't do that"... because chances are, they absolutely will. When I have a moment in full public view, with numerous onlookers, I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole. I had one of those very public examples today.

Wild child Felix has a fiercely determined head on his shoulders. He likes to try and match it with his big brother at every opportunity. At the playground, is no exception. He has been in the baby swing at the park on many occasions. But today, in the 10 seconds it took for me to move across to Angus' swing and give him a push, Felix decided to bail out of his comfy position. Arching his back so vigorously, he did a back flip right out of the swing. Seeing the whole thing unfurl, I screeched his name and dived to get a finger to his jacket, just as he plunged into the bark chips below. In that instant I felt like the worst Mama in the world. Like no other Mama in the history of time had let their 11 month old baby plummet kamikaze style out of a swing. Funny thing was, he didn't cry, or yell, or appear perturbed in the slightest. As I dusted bark chips and dirt out of his hair and jacket, he wriggled and giggled, trying to get back in the swing!

My bruised sense of pride did not get in the way of the boys enjoying the rest of their time at the park. Though if we hadn't just arrived, I would have packed them up and headed for the hills, to at least ease the prickly, hot feeling in my face and body. I think my rascals have plenty of those moments in store for me in the years to come. Angus pleads with me to put Felix on the slide with him, every time we go to this particular park. And I stand right there, ready and waiting, in case Angus lets go of him. So far, that has not happened. It would almost be wrong of me to deny them of such fun. Never mind my delicate Mama nerves they are both so adept in shattering. 




8 comments:

  1. I am glad he is okay after his kamikaze mission! I love your 'mother of the year' moment comment - I have many of those, mostly in public! x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh - the audience just seems to intensify everything doesn't it.
    Magoo loved to lean forward in the bub swings so that he would turn upside down.
    I always felt like a nutjob shrieking the park down every time he did it.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great photos Julie! Your boys a gorgeous! xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, Julie! Know you are not alone ☺. I have such moments. Daily. Thank goodness for your good reflexes! J x

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have read a few of your posts and it is like I am reliving those moments in time. I can look back and smile. I have become a new follower.

    You can look on me as a survivor of raising precious little angels who test every ability you have inside.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great pics! Gorgeous boys xx

    Haha - I have moments like those all the time - my default setting is clumsy which my daughters seem to have somewhat inherited too.

    You're so not alone with the swing thing - a while ago my youngest even managed to flip it over and stay half in dangling upside down, held in by a leg! Eeeek! Having two tiny people to run after at the park is hard at the best of times, let alone with a headstrong child!!!

    Hooray for 'mother of the year' moments - they keep life real!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love those mother of the year moments! Boys will do that to you... and yes, shatter those nerves too.

    But would we have it any other way?

    NOPE!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Australian baby swings are death traps! I'm only surprised it doesn't happen more often. In the UK they are solid, flat and can't tip up even with older sibs hanging on the back. I wouldn't even let mine in one when we first got here, and I nearly had a similar situation last week. Death traps I tell you!!
    Having said that, we used to live on the Fife coastline in Scotland and at 2 my oldest would climb up 10 foot cliff faces... You learn not to look and to look for houses near hospitals!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by my blog, reading this post and for leaving a comment. Seeing a comment on my posts always makes my day :o)