Happens Everyday...still amazed!

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I know little babies happen everyday, and I know Alyson is just one little girl in a planet filled with millions of other little baby girls, but I was just wondering if this is just a first time parent thing, or if all parents do this, or every parent everywhere does it to every kid they had.

Yesterday I was watching Alyson playing with her toys. No big deal, but then I became just amazed at her. Not with her toys, not at how cute she looked or even how cute she looked playing...I was just overwhelmed and amazed at HER.

It just blew me away that I created her. The tiny hands, the tiny toes, the miniaturized human being that can talk, smile, start to put sentences together and even get really mad. Its really too much to list, and it sounds so foolish, but holy crap guys I made her. I was just blown away by that. Now maybe its just because she is at that age where she looks like a little toddler one minute, and yet if you put a bottle in her mouth she can still look like a baby. Maybe that was the reason that I looked at Alyson in such a different light, but I was just blown away in amazement.

Is this something all parents see at some point...just utter amazement at what they created? Do you do this with all your kids at some point, or is it just the first one you have? Heck maybe no one else knows what I am talking about here. It's not the "wow she's cute" kind of thing, but the "holy crap, such a simple act created such a complex thing". I must be strange I guess, but looking at Alyson yesterday made me realize that of all the neat things I have created...as a woodworker and as a machinist...Alyson is the most unique, amazing thing that amazes me the most even if there are millions of baby girls out there.
 
Travis, my eldest is now 13 and I often find myself stuck by a similar feeling, and I'm finding as the kids get older the tapestry that is them is more complex, colorful and interesting, and I'm just glad that I've been able to have had some input into the whole thing, most of it good, I hope.

I once read about a lady who had 8 or 9 kids of her own, and over the years had adopted another 10 or 11, so she had close to 20 kids go through her home and life. She was asked about this, what is was like to have 20 kids....?

She replied something to the effect of..........

"I don't HAVE any kids, they are NOT mine at all, they are a gift in our lives, and I see my role as helping them get to the point where they can go our into the world and stand on their own two feet"

For me, this was profound (I'm sure the lady in question said it better than I just tired to....:eek: ). While I do not think that most parents think of "Their kids" as a possession, like you would think of "My car" or even "my dog" but, this wonderful lady's attitude was just so inspiring, she really did see her place in the world, as a parent, not as an absolute authority, or any such thing, but she realized and understood that each child was a mature competent adult in the making............ dunno, hard to put into words, that is why I sell beer for a living, and I don't write for a living :rolleyes: :D

Anyways, getting back to your question, yeah, I'm constantly amazed and intrigued and sometimes astounded by my two daughters, I hope to NEVER get used to it :D
 
Yesterday afternoon, after I had turned off and unplugged the table saw, I was cleaning up when I looked down and saw my four year old son sitting in the middle of a pile of walnut and maple sawdust. I was going to ask him to get up and clean off, but then I stopped and just watched him. He sat there, scooping up handfuls of the sawdust and letting it fall between his fingers.....over and over again. He looked up at me and smiled...and I got choked up, because he is just the sweetest little boy I have ever met. I cannot (and REFUSE to) imagine my life without him, his big brother, and his two sisters. Kids are a gift from God, and I thank Him everyday for giving me the gift of having somebody call me "Daddy".

- Keith
 
Travis, the wonderment happens to women earlier than men, and it's usually shortly after birth, when mom looks at baby and says to herself, "This came from my body??" It's pretty universal among mothers to feel that way---and continues. My son is 36 years old and I still get that feeling of amazement when I look at him, and at what he has become and made of himself. I'm just glad that the Powers That Be let me have him for myself for a while.

Nancy (51 days)
 
what scares the heck out of me is that my son has my genes:eek:....
the `ol fruit doesn`t fall far from the tree..
 
Travis, I think the parents that truly care for and love their children know exactly what it is you are saying. For those that don't know what you are trying to get across, I feel very sorry for them. My first year of teaching, I had a mother come in and apologize for her son (he hadn't done anything wrong in my class) and state that he was going to be an only child and there would never be another. How sad. He spent a lot of his own time in my school shop and at my home.
Want another wow moment? Wait until you are a grandpa! My grandson is 4 months old. Watching my daughter with him and his reactions to her and our family members, I thank God continually. Enjoy it, she will grow up fast! :eek:
 
what scares the heck out of me is that my son has my genes:eek:....
the `ol fruit doesn`t fall far from the tree..

Tod, this scares us all:rofl::rofl:!

Travis this is just the first of many time this will happen to you....just wait til your walking her down the isle:eek:....wow that just made me shiver about doing the same with my daughter.
 
What amazes me is the speed at which they grow up...........then they become parents........Then the grandkids become parents as did two of our granddaughters in the past 16 months.......And that feeling Travis.....it extends beyond your children.........


BTW......tod......You do have something to worry about!:rolleyes:
 
The thrill never stops. This morning I got an e-mail from my daughter with a link to pictures of her and her husband attending a World Series game in Denver. They look so happy together I cried. My only reply to her was that I am happy they are happy. Treasure yours. And don't ever feel shy about braggin' .
 
Travis,

Enjoy it, watching them grow up and discover things for the first time is neat. I did it with my son and daughter, now i'am doing it with 4 grandkids.3 boys and a girl. All different personnalitys, all a joy to have around. My 2nd grandson will putter around with me in the shop. 3rd wants to, oldest not sure, granddaughter not sure yet, she seems to be all girl. Thats ok because they are all special. Enjoy her and grow with her.:thumb::thumb:


Bill
 
Tod,
I used to say to my son when he did something unbelievable stupid in his teens...You're just like looking in the mirror of my teenage years...and it drives me crazy! Now...like last night...He's over in Bolgaria fixin some F16's and he stops and texts a message just to say hi. It chocked me up.
So...If yours turns old like you...it ain't bad.
 
thanks glenn! but gettin` to this stage in my life wasn`t pretty:eek:.......not that there`s anything pretty about me now!
 
what scares the heck out of me is that my son has my genes:eek:....
the `ol fruit doesn`t fall far from the tree..
Tod, that thought doesn't scare me, it terrorizes me. Sometimes I can't sleep at night because I will start to imagine my son in some of the messed up situations that I've been in. Whats worse is I got another on the way to torture me even more.

I guess if the past doesn't come back to haunt you at least the thought of it coming back will..... Stupid past:(

That said, I think that the amazement aspect of having children is a constant thing. Every new thing my son does amazes me even more than the last.
 
Thanks for all the replies...I guess I was not alone in my thoughts.

Still I have said Alyson makes me do two things...

A. Laugh every day
b. Amaze me every day

As for being a Grandfather...I can only imagine the joy. Right now watching my Father completely go goe-goe Gaa Gaa over my daughter makes me choke up. Here is a picture of four generations of Johnson's. My Dad is holding Alyson in this picture. The older man is my Great Uncle (a former shop teacher) and the good looking guy is me :)

Four_Gen_Johnson.JPG
 
A word of advice from one who has "been there":

All of you parents of young ones (and ones on the way), sit down, RIGHT NOW, with your spouse and make a list of all of the really stupid, dangerous, thoughtless, crazy things you did between the ages of 13 and 19. Write it all down, no matter how bad, then put it away in a safe place.

THEN, when your 15-year-old does something really stupid, dangerous, thoughtless, or crazy, BEFORE you start ragging on the kid and telling him/her "I never did anything like that....", bring out your list.

Believe me, most of your children won't do anything any crazier, etc., than you did at that age.

Nancy (51 days)
 
The Opposite Side

Nancy, not to change the direction of this post, but gosh darn it you got me to thinking about the opposite side of this equation...that is...Not allowing Alyson to do the things my parents allowed me to do.

One story I remember is hearing my mom get all worried because she could not find me. When she finally found me I was on the roof of my parents 2 story home working on the chimney with my dad. I had climbed up the ladder to "help daddy". I was only 2 years old. The thing is, dad let me climb up there. I would never allow Alyson to do that at that age.

At the same time I grew up on a farm so working around tractors was an everyday thing. When I was 10 my teacher told my mom I was a good kid but had big fantasies. When Mom said I was the most honest kid she knew the teacher mentioned me talking about "driving tractors." Well at the time we had a bulldozer and my Dad was logging. He would cut the trees and hook them up to the bulldozer. I would then drive the dozer out of the woods, unhook the trees and bring the dozer back to my dad since he was cutting more trees when I left. I could drive it because I could put both feet on the dash, grab the steering levers and pull really hard. I could also step down on the clutch with both feet and get the dozer out of gear. There is no way Alyson is going to log at 10 years old!!

There are a ton of other things too, like running around in a silo "packing down corn" as the silage was blown in from overhead. It was nothing to get lambasted in the head with chunks of corn cobs two inches around while doing this. Come on Dad, do you really think us 40 pound kids really packed the corn silage down that much? Ain't no way Alyson is doing that. Or catching hay bales coming off the baler at age 10. Or bushogging with my dad at 5 years old, or....

There are a lot of things I think my parents allowed that I never will. Probably came from life on the farm really. Still I have brought Alyson over to the barn since she was only 2 months old. I want her to know that her food and milk does not "come from the store", food comes from farms.
 
wasnt gonna but!

some of the replys have promted me to speak again:) nancys idea of thinkun about what we have dun in the past and the way our folks raised us has lead me to say a few words first of all travis your way ahead of me in the amazement league, see i screwed up, and was working all the time and missed that part for the most part. and really only remeber the school ages time on.. the better half remebers all kinds of things that my two duaghters did when younger but i wasnt there to see it or didnt take the time to register.. i got real lucky while they were in grade school and college too to get some of my lost time back..so savor every min you have with your kids and dont worry about the things we did that they might,, its all in the scheme of things and thats what makes all of us unique,, i have a straight laced one and one thats got alot of my good points:rofl:
 
Nancy, not to change the direction of this post, but gosh darn it you got me to thinking about the opposite side of this equation...that is...Not allowing Alyson to do the things my parents allowed me to do.

One story I remember is hearing my mom get all worried because she could not find me. When she finally found me I was on the roof of my parents 2 story home working on the chimney with my dad. I had climbed up the ladder to "help daddy". I was only 2 years old. The thing is, dad let me climb up there. I would never allow Alyson to do that at that age.

At the same time I grew up on a farm so working around tractors was an everyday thing. When I was 10 my teacher told my mom I was a good kid but had big fantasies. When Mom said I was the most honest kid she knew the teacher mentioned me talking about "driving tractors." Well at the time we had a bulldozer and my Dad was logging. He would cut the trees and hook them up to the bulldozer. I would then drive the dozer out of the woods, unhook the trees and bring the dozer back to my dad since he was cutting more trees when I left. I could drive it because I could put both feet on the dash, grab the steering levers and pull really hard. I could also step down on the clutch with both feet and get the dozer out of gear. There is no way Alyson is going to log at 10 years old!!

There are a ton of other things too, like running around in a silo "packing down corn" as the silage was blown in from overhead. It was nothing to get lambasted in the head with chunks of corn cobs two inches around while doing this. Come on Dad, do you really think us 40 pound kids really packed the corn silage down that much? Ain't no way Alyson is doing that. Or catching hay bales coming off the baler at age 10. Or bushogging with my dad at 5 years old, or....

There are a lot of things I think my parents allowed that I never will. Probably came from life on the farm really. Still I have brought Alyson over to the barn since she was only 2 months old. I want her to know that her food and milk does not "come from the store", food comes from farms.

Travis, just a small piece of parental advice: do NOT let your own fears transmit to your child and make her afraid of trying new things.

For example, you can have fear about her climbing onto the roof and you can tell her it is unsafe for her to do so, but don't tell her that you are afraid for her to do so because you are afraid that she will fall and get hurt. She will learn that fear from you and be afraid. There is a HUGE difference, and keeping her from trying new things because of your own fears for her is not fair to her. Sure, she'll get hurt as she grows and ventures out and tries things, but keeping her cut/bruise/scrape-free and wrapping her in cotton isn't the way either.

Besides, as your daughter, I'd venture a guess that she's going to be very much a tomboy and will probably make you grey before your time!

Nancy (50 days)
 
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