My Harmonica Duet Serenade

I'm not really into all the "Mommy and Me" classes out there... We could literally be doing a different class every day of the week from swimming to yoga (I prefer doing yoga minus the wrestling a toddler part- although I will admit, a plank is a lot more challenging with a 28 pounder on your back) to baby sign language. All of which are great, I am sure. But really? Are they for the babies or the mommies?  That being said, JD has been taking Kindermusik classes, taught by my friend Alissa, since he was about 5 months old (and we do make the occasional appearance at the local library's story time). It's kind of my attempt to make up for my own lack of musical ability, rhythm, etc. He has always enjoyed the class and frequently requests to hear the CDs in the car and at home. While he's not overly participatory during the actual class (preferring to observe with one thumb in his mouth and one pinching his belly), in the car he really goes to town with the all the motions and even tries to sing the words now. Anyway, it is a great program and  twice a semester the kids all get new instruments to take home. These have always been a hit and thanks in large part to Kindermusik, JD has two little baskets dedicated to musical instruments. The most recent addition this past week was not one but two harmonicas!

Hence, I was treated to this little serenade Sunday morning as I fixed our Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake for brunch and sipped my second cup of (half decaf!) coffee. You probably "would have had to have been here", but it's one of those moments that I love about being a mom. Or as a popular article (Don't Carpe Diem - you've probably seen it posted on a mom's facebook status) calls this moment: Kairos. The authore says "Kairos is God's time. It's time outside of time. It's metaphysical time. It's those magical moments in which time stands still. I have a few of those moments each day. And I cherish them."

If you are a mom with young kids and haven't read the article, you should. Not because it's a life-changing work of genius or anything, just because the rest of this post will make a lot more sense if you are familiar with the article. And the author's observations really did resonate with me. First of all, because I can definitely relate to having older ladies telling me that "It goes by so quickly! Enjoy it!" in the aisles of Target. I appreciated the illustration about climbing Mt. Everest - crying every step of the way but having your breath taken away when you look up and see the view and wanting to plan your next climb. And the quote of the famous author who, when asked if she liked writing said, "I like having written." I laughed out loud at her description of her three kids' antics in the check out line and her response to one of these kindly old ladies, "Thank you. Yes. Me too. I am enjoying every single moment. Especially this one. Yes. Thank you." Ha Ha Ha! I also totally get the whole Chronos/ Kairos time thing. There are moments, regular everyday moments -when a peanut butter and jelly smeared face looks over at me in the middle of lunch and an already very full mouth says a muffled "MORE!", when those mischievous blue eyes peer out from between chubby little fingers and I hear "A-boo!", when I see a certain little grin, or pour water over a soapy head in the bathtub and notice the way his eyelashes look when they're wet - moments that I just want to freeze in my mind so that they will last forever.

I also liked her comparison to how no body at her husband's job is standing over him, reminding him to enjoy each moment or implying that he is not a very good worker if he isn't loving every aspect of his job, making the most of it all. She says, "Parenting is hard. Just like lots of important jobs are hard."  And that reminded me that parenting is a job. An important job at that (not that it had really slipped my mind how important parenting is, but sometimes it's just nice to be reminded and validated anyway). There are several parks in our neighborhood where I am usually the only actual mom there when I take JD to play. Most of the kids are there with their nannies. Nannies, who I am quite sure, are making a very nice salary parenting. Sometimes, instead of thinking of myself as "just" a stay at home mom or as having left my career, it's nice to remember that people who do what I do are highly sought after and actually get paid really good money.

Anyway, while I did enjoy the article and appreciated the point the author was making about being truthful and admitting to the trials of parenting, let's be honest. There are plenty of moms out there talking about how hard parenting is. And they are right. And for that matter, there are plenty of seemingly perfect (well intentioned yet very annoying) moms out there talking about how absolutely wondrous  it is too.  But for me, it doesn't really fall into one of these neat little categories. The bottom line is this:  I am absolutely sure that I will look back one day and say, "I enjoy having parented." But the truth is, I enjoy the actual here and now parenting too.  I'm not just waiting for the day when I can look back nostalgically, heave a sigh of relief and say, "Ahh...It went by so fast!" I am truly thankful to be able to say that I love my job. Right now.