Five years of ramblings - Suburban Shalom

This month marks five years since I started a blog. It was the summer of 2010, and the two older girls were three and almost two when I first decided it might be good to have some sort of creative outlet. I was in a season when I didn’t leave the house much and longed for some adult interaction. I wasn’t sure then {as evidenced by some ridiculous early posts} and I’m still not all that certain what purpose this serves. What I do know is that coming here to flesh out my thoughts and our experiences ~ be those joys, challenges or mishaps ~ has helped me maintain some sanity and perspective. While I don’t feel as trapped at home these days, writing here continues to help keep me connected with you all, some of my very favorite people, when I don’t see you in person as often as I’d like.

The reason I decided on a blog in the first place, rather than a diary or journal, is because of the sense of community it creates. Though we’re not interacting in real time, when I hear from you or see you and catch up on shared experiences, there’s a sense of being in this together, whether “this” is parenting or marriage or friendship or just life. All of it is better done together than alone. So, thank you for putting up with my ramblings for five years. I’m humbled every time you show up and thankful you’ve stuck around.

While I’m reminiscing…

When the Toddler was a baby she had a thing for eating paper. In fact, if we were feeling particularly tired, we knew we could put her in the floor with the Sunday paper and she’d stay entertained for quite awhile rolling around on it and tasting different sections. {Obviously, she’s a third child. We would have never let the 3rd Grader have this much freedom on the dirty floor–Hello? People walk on it!–nor would we have let her play with paper due to its inherent dangers}

Once she discovered toilet paper, she was equally obsessed with its texture and taste. And, it became a game for her to see if she could get away with stealing a few squares.

Now days the Toddler has a slightly more refined palate, but there’s a new creature obsessed with paper in our household.

The strange thing is that paper is dead to this dog unless someone is attempting to read a newspaper or magazine. Once she has confirmed that someone is showing interest in some sort of leisurely reading, she then carefully plots her surprise attack. It’s as if the paper takes on the form a helpless bird or squirrel. Once she gets a corner, it becomes something she must kill and destroy. It’s all very barbaric. And it makes reading in her presence a real treat.

Also like the Toddler, Rosie is a big fan of the recyclables. She used to always take one of her plush animals with her when we went outside. Nowadays she just grabs something from the recycle bin. It’s a strange need she has to always have something in her mouth, but it’s much easier to get her to do her thing if I just go along with it. So, many days this is how she goes out for a walk. Milk jugs are her favorite.

The Toddler got to spend a few days with her grandparents this week which was a special treat for her. Since her sisters have gone back to school she has been so underwhelmed by me. This is her idea of a good time.

Sometimes it’s just hard to be this exciting. So, this morning we’re making houses for her stuffed animals out of cardboard boxes. At the moment she’s upset because I haven’t cut a hole big enough for her stuffed dogs to get in and out of their “house” with ease. She’s very hard to please.

If only a roll of toilet paper still entertained her…

Share this:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply