Sunday, March 1, 2009

Busy

The word is described at Dictionary.com in the following ways:

1.
actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime: busy with her work.
2.
not at leisure; otherwise engaged: He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.
3.
full of or characterized by activity: a busy life.
4.
(of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.
5.
officious; meddlesome; prying.
6.
ornate, disparate, or clashing in design or colors; cluttered with small, unharmonious details; fussy: The rug is too busy for this room.

However, when the word is used by a Mother's Day Out teacher, a grandparent, or perhaps a babysitter to describe...oh, let's say a 14 month old, what it really means is, "your kid is driving me CRAZY!!!"

I have discovered this because that would be the word of choice to describe Tigercub! Because he is not even remotely interested in baby things. He laughs in the face of poppers, Little People, and riding toys in favor of toilets, garbage cans and computers. Even in the "child safe" MDO room, his activities of choice are emptying the paper towel dispenser and going through doors and cabinets. His teachers regularly smile at me and tell me how "busy" he is and how they do not know how I keep up with him.

The fact is...I don't keep up with him. He is like a little hurricane moving through the house at record speeds and leaving a trail of destruction wherever he goes. He loves the garbage, so we bought one with a lid. He learned to remove the lid, so we began to spank his little bottom. Now, he just walks into the kitchen and knocks the whole thing over!

He then moves on to the computer where he pulls off the mouse and the card reader and regularly gets on the internet. So, we spank his little bottom, he cries, and crawls under the computer desk to empty the software boxes and press buttons on the hard drive.

When you go to the bathroom, he follows you in to unroll the toilet paper...but that is just a distraction, while you re roll the paper, he moves to the real target...the plunger!

And don't even get me started on the master bath where he starts by throwing all his toys into the bathtub, then moves around to the faucet...and turns the water on! He then pulls down the towel bar, opens the cabinet, empties all the brushes and hair clips, moves to the next drawer where he empties fingernail polish, then pulls out all the curling irons, hair gel, spray, etc. While I clean that up...he goes for the makeup drawer where he regularly goes for the blush brush...which he uses on his hair! Once I take away the blush brush, he moves on to the toothbrush drawer where he methodically removes everyone's toothbrush. If I am lucky, I will catch him before he begins using the brush of choice on the toilet!

I really don't mean to complain. I really don't mean to challenge the wisdom of an all knowing Heavenly Father. But I am old! Perhaps I could have handled a child like this in the early child bearing years. I was young, agile, fresh. Now...I am tired. I cannot keep up and I wonder...why now?

I like the words of one of my friends whose fourth child is just like our little Tiger cub! "It is God's way of saying, 'Last One!'"

2 comments:

Four Little Penguins said...

Ah, but when your "busy" child grows up to becoms an awesome genius who saves the world and/or supports the family with his incredible inventions... then you will look back on these days and laugh.
Always assuming, of course, he survives his childhood.
:)

Anonymous said...

even with my first and being 'fresh and agile' it's hard when you have a little hurricane running around! i have learned so much by just watching my son...as i am sure you have too! sounds like my Owen and your Tigercub would get along just fine! he does have 3 siblings to keep up with!

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