I'm changing......
Shannon D. Burton
Something about the chats is really altering my perceptions. The weekend was marvelous, and, after today's, I found myself doing something I never would've considered, even a week or two ago....
Annalise has recently mastered mouse and touchpad navigation, and is becoming more motivated to read (Jeremiah reads a lot; so does Daddy. Mommy simply cannot ignore words on paper....here, it's a cultural thing.)and play games, since the ones her brother has seem so cool to him.
Most of our games are secondhand, or were gifts we bought for Miah when he was smaller. He's into arts, building, magic,and inventing more than sports or war or more "macho" games, but there is a strong boy bias I only recently really noticed. And she is a frilly pink girlie-girl...
We have one game she loves - Crayola's First Ladies. Today it refused to work, and she was devastated.
I said, "Come to my door and wait a minute. I can help you." Then I went into the stash of games I bought on ebay last week and pulled out the Crayola Paint n' Play Ponies game I'd been planning to give her for her birthday this summer.
Instant delight....she created a stableful of fabulous,stylin' ponies and unicorns in vibrant hues....I've never seen her so engrossed at the computer before!
It used to be important *when* I gave my kids a gift. Not too often, or too much, lest they get spoiled or we spend all the money. Tonight, I got to be my DD's hero, then watch her face shining as she showed off for all of us. The game cost only a few dollars...less by far than a trip to McDonald's.
So worth it...and I've still got almost two months to find her another great gift for her special day...meanwhile, I get the joy that comes from perfectly meeting her needs, in that moment. And all the days between now and then, as she enjoys her new treasure.
And she may never know what a treasure this freedom is to *me* - unless one day she reads this post...
*BWG*
Shan
Annalise has recently mastered mouse and touchpad navigation, and is becoming more motivated to read (Jeremiah reads a lot; so does Daddy. Mommy simply cannot ignore words on paper....here, it's a cultural thing.)and play games, since the ones her brother has seem so cool to him.
Most of our games are secondhand, or were gifts we bought for Miah when he was smaller. He's into arts, building, magic,and inventing more than sports or war or more "macho" games, but there is a strong boy bias I only recently really noticed. And she is a frilly pink girlie-girl...
We have one game she loves - Crayola's First Ladies. Today it refused to work, and she was devastated.
I said, "Come to my door and wait a minute. I can help you." Then I went into the stash of games I bought on ebay last week and pulled out the Crayola Paint n' Play Ponies game I'd been planning to give her for her birthday this summer.
Instant delight....she created a stableful of fabulous,stylin' ponies and unicorns in vibrant hues....I've never seen her so engrossed at the computer before!
It used to be important *when* I gave my kids a gift. Not too often, or too much, lest they get spoiled or we spend all the money. Tonight, I got to be my DD's hero, then watch her face shining as she showed off for all of us. The game cost only a few dollars...less by far than a trip to McDonald's.
So worth it...and I've still got almost two months to find her another great gift for her special day...meanwhile, I get the joy that comes from perfectly meeting her needs, in that moment. And all the days between now and then, as she enjoys her new treasure.
And she may never know what a treasure this freedom is to *me* - unless one day she reads this post...
*BWG*
Shan
Verna
>Last weekend I went to a garage sale and found 7 gamecube games for 2 dollars each. I bought all of them.. they included mario party 5 and several harry potter games and a sonic... Anyway, I brought them home thinking I would dole them out one at a time, but my 6 year old saw them on top of my high dressor and asked what they were. My kids were so excited.
> Most of our games are secondhand, or were gifts we bought for Miah when he was smaller. He's into arts, building, magic,and inventing more than sports or war or more "macho" games, but there is a strong boy bias I only recently really noticed. And she is a frilly pink girlie-girl...
>
> We have one game she loves - Crayola's First Ladies. Today it refused to work, and she was devastated.
>
> I said, "Come to my door and wait a minute. I can help you." Then I went into the stash of games I bought on ebay last week and pulled out the Crayola Paint n' Play Ponies game I'd been planning to give her for her birthday this summer.
>
> Instant delight....she created a stableful of fabulous,stylin' ponies and unicorns in vibrant hues....I've never seen her so engrossed at the computer before!
>
> It used to be important *when* I gave my kids a gift. Not too often, or too much, lest they get spoiled or we spend all the money. Tonight, I got to be my DD's hero, then watch her face shining as she showed off for all of us. The game cost only a few dollars...less by far than a trip to McDonald's.
>
I put a pile of books in my bathroom, and last night the same six year old was getting into bed after I read to him and asked me to get him one of those books.
Yesterday, we were in a Rugged Wearhouse looking for shorts and my 7 year old found a tshirt that said, "Peter the Hutt" with a picture of Peter from Family Guy and his wife as Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leah. He thought it was the best thing in the world. He wanted to buy it and at first I kind of backed off, what would people think after all... But alas, what is it going to hurt.