Swings!

So yesterday officially turned into a day of simple joys that I really appreciated. After supper last night, I realized that Joshua had evidently not gotten his fill of the great outdoors yesterday. I knew this because between every bite he took of his supper, he'd turn around and point to the garage door and say "walk" or "wagon" or "out". So we suited up in our sneaks and headed for a walk. Surprisingly, he let me put him in his stroller (a rare occurrence), which allowed for a longer walk. I knew just where we should go..........THE SWINGS!

Our development has two beautiful playgrounds for the neighborhood kids. When we moved in (before Joshua was even a thought), I had no idea how much I'd appreciate it, but I sure do now. This was Joshua's maiden voyage on the swings and boy did he love it! The first picture above is his reaction the first time I pushed him on the swing. The whole time he was swinging, he kept saying "swing"...and he continued all the way home. When we got into the driveway and I asked him to tell Daddy what he did, he looked dumbfounded, as if he had totally forgotten. Silly boy.

Not long after we arrived, another family came to the playground with their 23 month old, Sophia. In true Joshua fashion, he was reserved and observant. He didn't take his eyes off of her! She jumped on the swings like a champ and was saying "Whee!" and "Higher"...while Joshua just watched in amazement.

Now, here's the moment of Mommy intropsection for my fellow Mommies out there. Why is it that we constantly compare our kids when they're around others, particularly new children that we've never met before? As soon as Joshua and Sophia started interacting a bit, I could tell that I was starting to assess her skills, put them on a little timeline and beginning to stress about how much Joshua has to accomplish by the time he's 23 months old! And, interestingly, I could see the same comparison happening with Sophia's parents. They were asking questions about what Joshua can do and say and then making mental notes about when Sophia did those same things. On the walk home, I had to really think about how STUPID it is to do that to ourselves and our kids. That they're all fine and will develop into perfectly functional human beings in their own time. I had to have a serious pep talk with myself about the fact that Joshua will not go to kindergarten speaking only in one syallable words and that he'll probably be able to put two words together at some point, even if it's not right at 18 months like the doctors want to see. In the end, I reconciled the whole thing to myself by getting excited about how much we have to witness and enjoy with Joshua as the next few months go on. Sophia was so full of personality that she communicated so well. And I really look forward to Joshua being able to speak in phrases that give us a better idea how he feels about things.

I think it's only natural for us all as parents to wonder if we're doing a good job or really screwing things up for our kids, so my bet is that all of our comparing and questions come from some need to validate our choices and philosophies and tactics on child raising. But I'm hoping that I can keep myself from feeling that way in the future and just believe enough in the decisions that Jason and I have made for Joshua without having to compare notes about the development or behavior of these precious little people.

And then I look at those precious pictures of a little boy who is having the time of his life experiencing the swings in the fresh springtime air, and I realize how unimportant it all is. As long as he's healthy and happy and safe, we must be doing something right.