Wednesday, October 20, 2010
2:35 p.m.
As I have mentioned before, I have a beautiful nineteen year old daughter--she is the apple of my eye, and quite frankly, over the past few years of her growing up, she has become my best friend. However, growing up, she was quite hard to raise at times and I would throw my hands up in frustration. As a toddler, she was a joy, but like any child, she did silly/stupid things. Later on, of course, you can laugh about them because, quite frankly, you find them cute--when you are no longer in the midst of the "crisis".
Haileigh and I had a weekly schedule that we kept pretty regularly. It was pretty rare when we didn't. We bussed it everywhere because I didn't have a driver's license (which I never did decide to get until she was sixteen years old--only out of necessity--but that is a totally different story for another day). Every Thursday, when I would get my paycheck, I would put Haileigh into her umbrella stroller, and we would walk up to Hamilton Street, go for lunch (Haileigh's choice was always Wendy's because she liked their chicken nuggets--maybe this is the reason she eventually became a vegan), and then we would go to the Dollar Store so she could choose a toy--always a dinosaur--I never knew a little girl could be so enthralled with dinosaurs (she always told me that she wanted to be a paleontologist when she grew up (in her most perfect three-year-old speech that she could muster--if you can picture it--"paweantowogist"). Then, after we were done with those activities, we would run whatever other errands I had to run.
I am now writing about one of our "travel" experiences, in particular. One afternoon, I needed to pick up some groceries so Haileigh and I hopped a bus to Lehigh Street to go to Food 4 Less, a discount grocery store. I was walking down the aisles to gather my purchases and Haileigh was lollygagging behind me, and stopping periodically to touch things and look--she was very independent and absolutely HATED being in the cart, so of course, I had to have eyes all over my head. I turned around to check on her (I always knew she was there because she was always either singing or just plain chatting away at herself, or anyone who would listen to her), and I spotted three distinctive lumps in her jeans pockets. I asked her, "Haileigh, what is in your pocket?". Her response was, plain and simple, "Nuffing". Again, she was asked, "Haileigh, come here and let me see what is in your pocket!". She then yelled at me, "I told you NUFFING!". She turned and ran away. So, I gave chase, grabbbed her, and checked her pocket. To my horror, in her pocket, I found three kiwis. I took them away from her and I told her all as she had to do was ask for she wanted. After all, they were only four for a dollar. So, even though I know I shouldn't have rewarded her bad behavior, I put the three kiwis in my cart and picked up another. She didn't ask for much, and believe me, because I was a single mother and couldn't afford much, she didn't get much. But this small request, I could grant. Besides, she was choosing something that was healthy for her to eat. I was lucky enough to have a child that wanted to, and liked to, eat fresh fruits and vegetables and that, I know, is a rare occurence in life.
So, that was my first experience with my little girl being a "criminal". She has grown up a lot since then and has brought me an amazing amount of joy, and headaches, alike. This was just one of those more funny and joyous moments to share--even though I didn't find it so funny at the time. So, Haileigh, I hope you enjoyed those kiwis. I know how much you like fresh fruit and, God forbid, should you ever put a piece of meat to your lips.
Haileigh and I had a weekly schedule that we kept pretty regularly. It was pretty rare when we didn't. We bussed it everywhere because I didn't have a driver's license (which I never did decide to get until she was sixteen years old--only out of necessity--but that is a totally different story for another day). Every Thursday, when I would get my paycheck, I would put Haileigh into her umbrella stroller, and we would walk up to Hamilton Street, go for lunch (Haileigh's choice was always Wendy's because she liked their chicken nuggets--maybe this is the reason she eventually became a vegan), and then we would go to the Dollar Store so she could choose a toy--always a dinosaur--I never knew a little girl could be so enthralled with dinosaurs (she always told me that she wanted to be a paleontologist when she grew up (in her most perfect three-year-old speech that she could muster--if you can picture it--"paweantowogist"). Then, after we were done with those activities, we would run whatever other errands I had to run.
I am now writing about one of our "travel" experiences, in particular. One afternoon, I needed to pick up some groceries so Haileigh and I hopped a bus to Lehigh Street to go to Food 4 Less, a discount grocery store. I was walking down the aisles to gather my purchases and Haileigh was lollygagging behind me, and stopping periodically to touch things and look--she was very independent and absolutely HATED being in the cart, so of course, I had to have eyes all over my head. I turned around to check on her (I always knew she was there because she was always either singing or just plain chatting away at herself, or anyone who would listen to her), and I spotted three distinctive lumps in her jeans pockets. I asked her, "Haileigh, what is in your pocket?". Her response was, plain and simple, "Nuffing". Again, she was asked, "Haileigh, come here and let me see what is in your pocket!". She then yelled at me, "I told you NUFFING!". She turned and ran away. So, I gave chase, grabbbed her, and checked her pocket. To my horror, in her pocket, I found three kiwis. I took them away from her and I told her all as she had to do was ask for she wanted. After all, they were only four for a dollar. So, even though I know I shouldn't have rewarded her bad behavior, I put the three kiwis in my cart and picked up another. She didn't ask for much, and believe me, because I was a single mother and couldn't afford much, she didn't get much. But this small request, I could grant. Besides, she was choosing something that was healthy for her to eat. I was lucky enough to have a child that wanted to, and liked to, eat fresh fruits and vegetables and that, I know, is a rare occurence in life.
So, that was my first experience with my little girl being a "criminal". She has grown up a lot since then and has brought me an amazing amount of joy, and headaches, alike. This was just one of those more funny and joyous moments to share--even though I didn't find it so funny at the time. So, Haileigh, I hope you enjoyed those kiwis. I know how much you like fresh fruit and, God forbid, should you ever put a piece of meat to your lips.
