What now feels like ages ago, during a time of high stress, I started writing a diary. Not entirely a diary about myself.. But a diary about my observations of my then two year old daughter. It was therapy against the stress and trying times. If I could find something that made me happy each day and write it down it would “reset” my mind and help me move away from the stressful events. It eventually because something else. It became a way for me to capture and remember what I couldn’t from the hundreds of photographs I normally take of life around me.
Eventually that part of my stress went away. But another came, and thankfully also passed. Now that life looks as bright as it has ever been I’m taking up the diary again.
What follows will be a multipart recounting of the once only Facebook diary entries. They will both be re-edited to correct obvious language mistakes and will sometimes contain some more explanation (if I remember). After the retelling I will resume the diary as best as I can.
#1
Jul 8, 2012
I love my daughter for saying that she “did exercise at the pool”. I love my daughter for wanting to put more tomatoes in her humus sandwich. I love my daughter for getting up from a tricycle spill worried that her stuffed monkey she was giving a ride was hurt instead of crying about her own fall.
#2
Jul 9, 2012
I love my daughter for insisting that mama turn around the car to pick up dada from the just arrived train.
It seems most kids have a fascination with trains. And my daughter has the pleasure of frequently picking me up at the train station on a proper Union Pacific Northern Metra train.
#3
Jul 10, 2012
I love my daughter for bravely taking off her own bandage from the lead test she got today.
#4
Jul 11, 2012
I love my daughter for helping put the pasta to boil one Rotini at a time.
We try and involve our daughter as much as possible in cooking and other chores. And sometimes she surprises us with her way of doing things. But I found the care she took in this particular task highly entertaining.
#5
Jul 12, 2012
I love my daughter for “taking a cheese”, i.e. a picture, of mama and dada with a pocket calculator.
Imagination is an amazing human trait. In her attempt to copy her Daddy she decided that Mommy’s pocket calculator was sufficiently like my compact digital camera that she could take pictures with it. But of course, associating the word used to get people to smile for pictures to the act itself was the real kicker.
#6
Jul 13, 2012
I love my daughter for eating more frittata, guacamole, chips, plum, and nectarine in one sitting than either mama or dada.
Most parents will tell you that food is a continuous challenge with their kids. We are both fortunate and challenged by our daughter having a metabolism that keeps her below most weight/height charts, i.e. she’s very thin and not tall. And keeping her eating enough calories in a healthy manner is our ongoing challenge. So when she eats enough for two grownups in one sitting we are both amazed and relieved.
#7
Jul 14, 2012
I love my daughter for saying “I don’t like this part” when we get to saying goodbye to grandma and grandpa on Skype.
#8
Jul 15, 2012
I love my daughter for climbing the playground rock-wall higher than either mama or dada could reach.
It seems all kids like to climb. But many are also scared of heights. This was one of those moments when everyone was both excited and scared. Excited that she was climbing that high. And scared that we couldn’t reach each other if something happened.
#9
Jul 17, 2012
I love my daughter for insisting that she had to wear her new jaguar pajamas to bed.
#10
Jul 17, 2012
I love my daughter for being OK with dada leaving for a meeting in the middle of bedtime book reading.
