Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A Blinding Flash of Insight

A couple of hours ago, I was sitting at my desk, engrossed in an interesting user interface design problem. I realized that I was fidgeting in my chair because I had to go to the bathroom, but wanted to finish designing the screen I was working on.

And then I flashed back to last night, when Pumpkin was sitting at her little desk, engrossed in a picture she was coloring. She was fidgeting around, clearly in need of a potty break, but wouldn't stop to take one until she finished coloring in the sun she'd drawn on her page.

One of the most humbling things about parenting is seeing your own bad habits and personality quirks echoed back at you.

4 comments:

  1. "One of the most humbling things about parenting is seeing your own bad habits and personality quirks echoed back at you."

    AMEN!

    Also amazing to see my husband's habits and quirks (good and bad) reflected in the kids.

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  2. That's awesome. That power of concentration is a great trait!

    I watch my kids' behavior, too, looking for what good and bad stuff they are mirroring off of me. One thing is storming off in anger.

    I need to work more on giving an explanation and that it is temporary. I worry that someday when they're big they may do it by storming out of the house and because we live in the city that would scare me to death.

    When I was a kid, it was acceptable to storm out of the house in anger, but we were in the middle of nowhere and the barn and the woods were nice safe places to hide and sort out your feelings. All kids need that safe haven, and I wonder where one could be for my kids?

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  3. @Geeks in Rome- when I was a kid, I would run and hide in my closet.

    One time, I got stuck in there- it had one of those silly handles that is tiny and hard to operate from the inside. So I was mad, and then I was trapped and scared. Oops.

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  4. @Geeks in Rome - For me, it was my room. I was fortunate to have my own room for most of my childhood, and although we kids were not allowed to lock the door, it was generally respected as our own space where we could be alone if we needed. Within reason.

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