Thoughts on... Awefulls

So, just what is an "awefull" anyway?

It was only yesterday when I took the opportunity to add this term to my vocabulary after my little two-foot-plus instructor jumped up and down, clapping her hands, dancing while I made breakfast. It was then I learned what an "awefull" was.

We had gotten up at daybreak yesterday morning as Mike had to leave for work early, so me and Sarah toddled down to breakfast around 8am. It was a normal Saturday morning, with the exception of Mike being gone. We have created a routine: we walk into her room, and if she is awake, say "good morning" and ask her if she wants out of her crib. (If she isn't awake when we walk into the room, we normally just turn on the lights, start making a little noise until she wakes up naturally as we have learned by experience, that Sarah is a lot like my little sister when you wake her up out of a deep sleep... it's something you just don't want to do unless you can run really, really fast...) Once she's out of the crib, she goes straight to her changing table and we chit-chat. I ask her how she slept, she'll normally ask where Daddy is, I will tell her, she'll repeat what I tell her in question format, I will affirm her question and then she'll ask about one of her most favorite activities... eating!


Hamming it up in the living room...

"E-E-E," she says (translated, "Eat-Eat-Eat") and her eyes get wide as she starts telling me how "hunga" (hungry) she is and how she wants her "ju-ju" (we call her drinks "juice" because it's easier for her to say juice instead of drink). So by the time we get her diaper on, get her in her clothes, get her shoes on, etc., she's ready to eat anything that resembles food and, on most days, will repeat her plea to "E-E-E" up to 5 to 10 times. And there are times that after we finally arrive downstairs in the kitchen, she is so worked up about eating that she starts to dance and clap and squeak and stomp when she sees the food coming out of the fridge.

Well, this particular morning she knew she was going to have a special breakfast (I had promised it to her the night before to help her go to sleep), so as I started preparing the food, she started making little "ooo-oooo-ooooo" noises and following me around the kitchen.


Watch out Pippie! You ain't got nothin' on Sarah!

You see, several weeks ago, Mike was having a hard time putting Sarah down to sleep, so he thought it might help to tell her what we were going to do the next day. He would tell her, "...the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner you'll wake up tomorrow and then we're going to..." and he would proceed to tell her about what we would be doing the next day. Believe it or not, we think it's working as she's becoming easier for him to put down now. So when she started to cry last night as I was putting her to bed, I used his technique; I told her that we were going to eat her favorite foods the next morning. I don't think I've ever seen her stop crying so fast. Needless to say, after I told her about breakfast, she went straight to sleep without another peep!

So, back to the kitchen...

Of late, Sarah's been talking a lot more - and her vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds. So I was surprised to hear her say, "awefull" yesterday. I was standing there prepping the food and she said, "awefull" rather excitedly. I could tell, by the way she was motioning that she did not mean, "awful" as in "that just stinks", rather, she was very happy and kept repeating the word.... "awefull... awefull... awefull..."

If you had heard her without seeing her, you might have thought, "boy! this child is just miserable about something..." and it was strange and slightly uncomfortable to hear her repeat that word over and over again. To me, the word meant something completely different - to me, the word is extremely negative and I was having a hard time listening to her say it... then watching her slowly spin circles with glee about the kitchen floor. It just didn't make any sense.


Talking to Daddy on Mommy's cell phone...

I knew, just by looking at her, that she was excited and her "awefull" meant something good. And so, it started me thinking.

Lately, I've been learning little life lessons from the oddest of places. Yesterday, it just happened to come from my pint-sized bit of joy. So many times, we misinterpret things that make us uncomfortable or painful as being negative, when in reality, they are the exact opposite. The last couple years of our lives have been unusually stressful - some of it was brought on by our own decisions, and some of it was beyond our knowledge or control and generally, when an issue popped up during this time, it was something I instantly viewed as being negative and unwanted. I am slowly learning to embrace these experiences, because after being through a few, I have realized, they've actually been good for me. I've learned a great deal from each experience and I'm a much stronger person and hopefully, it's made me a better person too (or at least a little more thankful and a little less negative).


Minutes after sitting in her very own rocking chair, made specially for her by a very special family friend...

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and foresight (for me at least) is normally legally blind, but at least now, I'm doing my best to see these "negative" issues in a different light. I find problems are easier to endure when you see them as opportunities instead of clobbertunities (ok, ok, so if you use that word during a Scrabble game... well, let's just say, you're on your own).

I am starting to believe that sometimes the best rewards come from persevering positively through your most painful moments.

Anyhow, it just struck me as I watched her that day - how joyful she was, saying "awefull" while whooping-it-up in the kitchen. Unbeknownst to Sarah, she inspired me to do the same thing. The next time I encounter something "awful" I'm going to try my best to remain joyful regardless of the situation.

Oh and by the way, "awefull" means "waffles" in Sarah-talk... and she is definitely filled with awe-fulls when it comes to observing Mommy making waffles.