Andrea: Mom, what's rich?
Liv: It's when you have everything you need and you're happy
Andrea: Am I rich?
Liv: Do you have everything you need?
Andrea: Yes
Liv: are you happy?
Andrea: YES!!!! I'm rich! I'm rich!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Conversations with Sabrina - Great Great Great Parents
Andrea: Is Nanay my grandmother too?
Liv: Nope, she's your great-grandmother.
Andrea: Why?
Liv: Cause she's the mother of Gramma, your grandmother.
(silence)
Andrea: You're a great mother mommy...
The fact that she turned 5 today is already making me cry...add statements like this and I'm reduced to mush.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Independence, Self-Reliance and Gushing
Dear Sabrina Banana,
I love you so much and I would love nothing more than to spend as much time with you as possible. I would gladly and happily be with you forever if I could…but I can’t. My ego, my being, the mother in me are all aching to baby you. I want so badly to have you dependent on me, I want you to need me, to be reliant on me. I want you to have to call out my name first thing in the morning just because you need me. But I know that’s not good for you in any way. It would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t prepare you for the time I might not be with you anymore.
In a few days, you would be turning 5. That one year from 4 to 5 might not mean much in the greater scheme of things but for you, that one year spells a myriad of changes and development. The most significant for me is how much you have been striving for your independence. My heart is bursting with so much emotion, there’s sadness at losing your complete and utter dependence on me (as when you were inside my stomach), then there’s joy….joy that you are growing beautifully and developing according to your age. And of course there’s pride. Can any mother talk about her child without pride? I think not. I’m proud of the ways you are advanced, and of how you persevere inspite of any delay in your development. Lastly, I am humbled. Humbled that among all the women in the world, God chose me to be your mom. That despite my shortcomings and mistakes I was deemed worthy to raise and guide you throughout your life.
I have to recognize that I don’t own you and that despite coming from me, you are not me. And so I begrudgingly start letting you go and you are lapping up independence like your life depended on it. Yesterday you bathed, brushed your teeth and dressed yourself. Not an easy task for a kid with fine-motor delays…yes you struggled but you kept trying and you persevered! The excitement in you was palpable upon seeing your “success”. You asked me if I was proud of you…”Always” I said, and I meant it.
That night, I was resigned to not being needed anymore. Yet before you slept you looked at me and said “Mommy, do you want to snuggle?”. I smiled and said “Of course I do!”. At that moment,
I realized that letting you grow up did not mean losing you. It simply meant getting to enjoy you differently…maybe, just maybe in an even better way.
Love ya,
Momma
I love you so much and I would love nothing more than to spend as much time with you as possible. I would gladly and happily be with you forever if I could…but I can’t. My ego, my being, the mother in me are all aching to baby you. I want so badly to have you dependent on me, I want you to need me, to be reliant on me. I want you to have to call out my name first thing in the morning just because you need me. But I know that’s not good for you in any way. It would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t prepare you for the time I might not be with you anymore.
In a few days, you would be turning 5. That one year from 4 to 5 might not mean much in the greater scheme of things but for you, that one year spells a myriad of changes and development. The most significant for me is how much you have been striving for your independence. My heart is bursting with so much emotion, there’s sadness at losing your complete and utter dependence on me (as when you were inside my stomach), then there’s joy….joy that you are growing beautifully and developing according to your age. And of course there’s pride. Can any mother talk about her child without pride? I think not. I’m proud of the ways you are advanced, and of how you persevere inspite of any delay in your development. Lastly, I am humbled. Humbled that among all the women in the world, God chose me to be your mom. That despite my shortcomings and mistakes I was deemed worthy to raise and guide you throughout your life.
I have to recognize that I don’t own you and that despite coming from me, you are not me. And so I begrudgingly start letting you go and you are lapping up independence like your life depended on it. Yesterday you bathed, brushed your teeth and dressed yourself. Not an easy task for a kid with fine-motor delays…yes you struggled but you kept trying and you persevered! The excitement in you was palpable upon seeing your “success”. You asked me if I was proud of you…”Always” I said, and I meant it.
That night, I was resigned to not being needed anymore. Yet before you slept you looked at me and said “Mommy, do you want to snuggle?”. I smiled and said “Of course I do!”. At that moment,
I realized that letting you grow up did not mean losing you. It simply meant getting to enjoy you differently…maybe, just maybe in an even better way.
Love ya,
Momma
Monday, February 27, 2012
Spell It Out
Dear Sabrina Banana,
I must confess that we have been snickering a bit (albeit lovingly) at the way you pronounce your "L"s and "SH"s. We would repeatedly ask you to say words that we know you're struggling with just because you sound so cute saying them. Last night, I asked you to tell your Gramma about your memory verse from Sunday school which goes like this "Trust the Lord with all your heart"
Liv: Andrea can you tell Gramma about your memory verse today?
Andrea: Trust the Wohd with all your heart!
Gramma: The Wohd?
Andrea: No the WOHD.
Grama: Wohd?
Andrea: WOHRD!
Gramma: Wohd?
Andrea: L-O-R-D!
OMG. We were so surprised. We didn't know you could spell! This is so interesting because this is not a word you come across often even in your Bible. You don't study this word in school. So I know you spelled it out phonetically instead of by your memory. I must say, you shut me and gramma up pretty good last night. =)
Love ya,
Momma
I must confess that we have been snickering a bit (albeit lovingly) at the way you pronounce your "L"s and "SH"s. We would repeatedly ask you to say words that we know you're struggling with just because you sound so cute saying them. Last night, I asked you to tell your Gramma about your memory verse from Sunday school which goes like this "Trust the Lord with all your heart"
Liv: Andrea can you tell Gramma about your memory verse today?
Andrea: Trust the Wohd with all your heart!
Gramma: The Wohd?
Andrea: No the WOHD.
Grama: Wohd?
Andrea: WOHRD!
Gramma: Wohd?
Andrea: L-O-R-D!
OMG. We were so surprised. We didn't know you could spell! This is so interesting because this is not a word you come across often even in your Bible. You don't study this word in school. So I know you spelled it out phonetically instead of by your memory. I must say, you shut me and gramma up pretty good last night. =)
Love ya,
Momma
Monday, February 20, 2012
Lessons from You
Dear Sabrina Banana,
I have been feeling so tired and sick these past couple of days that this Sunday, I let the exhaustion get to me. I was irritable and grumpy. I was generally unpleasant to be with.
I could tell that you knew something was wrong with me. You took on the role of peacemaker and you generally tried to make sure I wasn't even more irritated. I'm amazed at your sensitivity and I'm sorry for causing you any distress.
At night, I felt a bit better. I went to your bed and apologized. Our conversation went like this:
OUCH. You definitely schooled me! You are right of course. I shouldn't have been grumpy. Being sick is no excuse. I mean what I said, I'll do better next time.
Love you,
Momma
I have been feeling so tired and sick these past couple of days that this Sunday, I let the exhaustion get to me. I was irritable and grumpy. I was generally unpleasant to be with.
I could tell that you knew something was wrong with me. You took on the role of peacemaker and you generally tried to make sure I wasn't even more irritated. I'm amazed at your sensitivity and I'm sorry for causing you any distress.
At night, I felt a bit better. I went to your bed and apologized. Our conversation went like this:
Mom: Banani, I'm sorry for being grumpy today. I shouldn't be grumpy. I'll try to be better tomorrow.
Sabrina: Why were you grumpy?
Mom: I was feeling sick and it made me grumpy.
Sabrina: If something hurts you can just feel sad, you don't have to be grumpy.
Mom: You're right. I'll do better next time.
OUCH. You definitely schooled me! You are right of course. I shouldn't have been grumpy. Being sick is no excuse. I mean what I said, I'll do better next time.
Love you,
Momma
Thursday, February 16, 2012
What is Love?
Dear Sabrina Banana,
A friend of mine who is a teacher in a preschool asked her students what LOVE means. I found their answer so interesting that I decided to ask you as well. I was sure you were going to come up with a crazy, funny, far-off answer but I was so wrong. When I asked you what love meant, you said:
"It's caring for someone. It's when you take care of somebody"
I was taken aback. Wow. You got it!
Love ya,
Momma
A friend of mine who is a teacher in a preschool asked her students what LOVE means. I found their answer so interesting that I decided to ask you as well. I was sure you were going to come up with a crazy, funny, far-off answer but I was so wrong. When I asked you what love meant, you said:
"It's caring for someone. It's when you take care of somebody"
I was taken aback. Wow. You got it!
Love ya,
Momma
Trust
Dear Sabrina Banana,
Last week, you were sick. I wrote you a letter during that time: Sick Baby. I told you about how I tried to teach you about the need to trust me and to believe that I will not lie to you and that I will do my best to take care of you.
Imagine how terrible I felt last Tuesday when I was 10 minutes late in picking you up!! Here I am asking you to trust me, yet I wasn't so dependable. =( As soon as you got inside the car you immediately said "Mommy you weren't there when I went out". I apologize and told you about what caused the delay. You looked at me proudly and said "I just waited in the classroom and I didn't cry".
You see, in the past, you used to cry at the slightest delay of your fetcher. I asked you why you didn't cry and you said "Because I'm sure you will pick me up, like you said." WOW. On one hand, my guilty feelings resurfaced but at the same time I'm so happy that you now understand that Daddy and I can generally be trusted (albeit, 10 minutes late in this case). When you said this, I pulled over and hugged you....and I silently thanked God for guiding daddy and I in raising you to be as wonderful as you are now.
Love you,
Momma
Last week, you were sick. I wrote you a letter during that time: Sick Baby. I told you about how I tried to teach you about the need to trust me and to believe that I will not lie to you and that I will do my best to take care of you.
Imagine how terrible I felt last Tuesday when I was 10 minutes late in picking you up!! Here I am asking you to trust me, yet I wasn't so dependable. =( As soon as you got inside the car you immediately said "Mommy you weren't there when I went out". I apologize and told you about what caused the delay. You looked at me proudly and said "I just waited in the classroom and I didn't cry".
You see, in the past, you used to cry at the slightest delay of your fetcher. I asked you why you didn't cry and you said "Because I'm sure you will pick me up, like you said." WOW. On one hand, my guilty feelings resurfaced but at the same time I'm so happy that you now understand that Daddy and I can generally be trusted (albeit, 10 minutes late in this case). When you said this, I pulled over and hugged you....and I silently thanked God for guiding daddy and I in raising you to be as wonderful as you are now.
Love you,
Momma
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