Parenthood

Have you ever seen the movie "Parenthood"? Well, if you haven't, then you probably won't understand anything I'm writing about. Basically it is a movie about...well...parenthood. That sums it up for the most part. Well, today as I was watching my kids run amok through the house and outside and seeing how much trouble they can get into, I stopped to take it all in. Sometimes, when I see other people and their children, I can't help but feel like they have their act together and I don't. As I watched my kids today I saw how completely crazy they can be. (I know, I know...it's called 'being a toddler.' But still...) At one point in the day, Abby was happily banging her head into the wall to make Alex laugh and shortly after, they were both standing on my computer desk jumping up and down on my laptop. I think I really did pull a small chunk of hair out of my scalp at that point that I later clogged my vacuum with. So, as I was putting these moments into perspective, I remembered a scene from 'Parenthood'. Steve Martin's little boy has a bucket on his head and is repetitively banging his head into a wall for no apparent reason. Rick Moranis' character is asking his wife if she wants to have their perfectly behaved, and highly educated child turn out like that. I just happened to have the Steve Martin children. I really do feel like I have out of control kids sometimes. I could call them adventurous or even imaginative. But am I fooling myself? Or does everyone else out there have children who enjoy a little bucket-covered-head-banging? I suppose I will never truly know. For now, I will continue asking my kids the same question I seem to ask them at least once a day: "What on Earth are you doing?" Or my second favorite: "What part of your brain told you that was okay?"