Sunday, April 19, 2009

They are Only Young Once



I say it so often, I expect the expression to be old and tired by now. But, it is not.

On certain days when 4pm rolls around I feel old and tired myself. I am not either.

We go bouncing along. The children should see their mother on a pogo stick. Perhaps they should see their mother on a pogo stick more often. But, that might be a little hard on mother’s back.

When my sister chastised me for not owning one, she felt pleased that she would now have an appropriate gift for my 40th birthday. My first thought was that I must certainly plan to wear it out before my 80th. Yes, by then I ought to need a new one.

In the meantime, I must remember that they are only young once.

And, they should sit along a country road with their aunt, waiting for their cousin's school bus.




They should pick out a brand new and incredibly awesome bike that they will have to grow into, only to show off that they don't need to grow into it, and later scrape their knee and not even cry, because the bike is not even slightly too big for them.


They should try something new and go faster than their mother prefers.



They should investigate a cat, up close.



Go on, crawl after it.



They should make rediculously large cookies with their aunt who uses a 1/4 cup scoop when Mom only makes them tablespoon size. Well, at least she USED to.




They should play outside.



They should stay up past bedtime to watch their Mom and Uncle and Grandma dissect a 4 1/2 pound lobster in a buttery orgy of culinary goodness. On second thought, they shouldn't watch that, but it sure made Mom very happy.



They should explore an old playhouse.




They should see animals without paying admission.




They should keep that honest-to-goodness smile on their faces.





They should take a stroll with Grandma through the historic district, if they can keep up with her. After all, they are only young once.



Some of them make it last a lifetime.



Yes, that is a rare picture of Mr. MIT Mommy. He borrowed Andrew's bicycle. He is sleeping and doesn't know that I took this picture. Shhhhh.



This is what it looks like when the pogo stick wins. With a little more practice, I will be better than my niece. (Please don't tell her I'm practicing. I think the element of surprise is my only hope).

11 comments:

Indy said...

Great photos. You will be so happy you have those down the road. And you won't believe how young you were when you took them. Love them!

Anna said...

Lol. YOUR NIECE is reading this blog entry as she is watching the news. She is also speaking in the third person. Because only cool people do that. Cool people that can jump on pogo sticks. :P

MIT Mommy said...

So busted, and by a middle schooler no less. I was busted by middle schoolers enough while in middle school. I wasn't cool then either. (I'm sure your mother will be more than happy to verify that - although, it is unlikely you require much verification, eh?)

Flea said...

I LOVE THIS POST!!! Especially you on the pogo stick. :)

Badass Geek said...

Those cookies look like the perfect size.

Laura said...

Looks like you had a great time! I'm trying the scoop next time too. They must be six inch cookies!

MIT Mommy said...

It is an excellent cookie recipe, and very specific to making large cookies. I will have to divulge my (sister's) secrets on Cleveland dot com and send you the link.

The world needs to know that there is life beyond Tollhouse (not that there's anything wrong with Tollhouse, mind you, for small cookies).

Anonymous said...

I would have paid to see you actually jumping around on your pogo stick.

Andrew's face is a picture of bliss - lovely!

AreWeThereYet? said...

We have a pogo stick at our house. I attempted a couple bounces this week myself. (I am of course 40 now.) Perhaps you should come over for a practice session - I mean playdate - later this week.

Angela said...

Love the shot of Mr. MIT Mommy. I could never stay up on a pogo stick, then again I never tried. But I can still beat the pants off my kids when it comes to hula hooping. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey its your OTHER niece! Just wanted to say this is the second time I've read your blog and it keeps getting better and better! By the way your sister never makes cookies that big- unless it is for your fourth grade birthday party at school! (Those were some pretty big cookies, but then again maybe they were just huge compared to the size of me. :D) I can't wait to see you guys again!
Love, the better half of Annabec :D