Friday, February 6, 2015

37/365 Chinese New Year and Mothering





The days leading up to Chinese New Year are like a littering of clues, a mounting excitement in the city and even in our home. The kids are getting out of school, the trees and xiao qu's have more and more red lanterns of all sizes swinging from every hangable surface, even the stores are busier with shoppers and seem to be drowning in a sea of red. 

My girl is home for the next month, which the littlest man and I are pretty thrilled about. Today we read The Story about Ping and Are You My Mother about a trillion times, and though I love every minute with his sweet little cheeks, it will be nice to have someone else for him to hover around. 

As we read, I couldn't help but chuckle at one of my favorite lines in Are You My Mother, as the little bird sizes up the giant excavator,

"You are not my mother. You are a Snort."

Every time I read it I imagine my kids saying it in their heads at me when I'm acting out of my mind. And it's true, at times I am a Snort. But you love your mother, Snorts and all. And it's easy to imagine that they'll forgive me for all my shortcomings when I'm still bathing them and reading kid's books and taking pictures of their pudgy hands everywhere. But what about when they are tall and angular and a little more battered by life? Thinking on these happy thoughts today and dreaming of red lanterns and spring...

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