Monster, Rage, Salt and Fire = Sanjay

Today I was pulling into the Walmart parking lot and one of my favorite college songs was spinning... Monsters and Angels by Voice of the Beehive. Before heading out on Saturday night, my roommates and I would play this track and sing along. The lyrics go like this, “There are monsters there are angels, there's a peacefulness and a rage inside us all. There is sugar, there is salt... there is ice and there is fire in every single heart there are monsters there are angels”. Lovely song, but little did I know that it was foreshadowing my trip inside the Walmart.

Sanjay has been sniffly... coming off a cold... maybe he was tired... alright, I'm just stretching for some excuse here. For some reason today, everything brought the rage out of him. Walking in the doorway, he catches sight of the McDonald's and insists that we stop for something to eat. I remind him that he has just had breakfast and we are not going in there for a bite. Something comes out of him that we usually only get the privilege of seeing in the privacy of our own home. He begins to cry, yell, scream... tell me “No”... all of this loud enough so that many eyes are now watching us. I manage to get him to continue through the store with me for the one thing we came for... poster board for Priya's school project. While standing in the craft isle, I choose the blue poster board... unfortunately, Sanjay thinks the 5th blue poster board down in the pile is better and he starts reaching for it. I tell him that I already have one and “let's go”. Now, the fire and salt start spilling out of the boy... he is literally uncontrollable with his yelling and anger. He's saying, actually shouting, “Mommy, you are so bad!” as I'm walking a few paces in front of him to the checkout so we can escape.

His behavior was similar to this video clip from a couple of years ago... only magnified because he's now 2 years older and talking.



He does have this dual personality of sorts. The boy can be so charming and so sweet and so lovable... then there are times when really it doesn't matter what you say to him, the anger remains and he's just plain ugly. This is the first time the public has seen Sanjay's rage and hopefully it's the last. I wish there was someway I could apologize to this morning's Walmart patrons for having to witness that.

Wishing for Spring

I think this continuous streak of sub-zero weather has gotten to Priya... she is ready for spring. Either that, or she's ready for high school.

She brought this painting home from school today. The assignment was to paint something that they wished to come alive. (the inspiration for this project came from a book they read about a magic paintbrush that did just that)



"This is me as a teenager walking to the store. See the red things? Those are Easter Eggs. I'm going to the store to buy an Easter Egg basket and then I'll find all the hidden eggs." -Priya

Thoughtful Priya

Priya's creativity is booming these days. We go through construction paper and glue like crazy. She makes cards or drawings for her friends, Mommy and Daddy on a regular basis. Though it seems lately that the cards for Daddy outnumber the ones made for everyone else. Today she came home with a really sweet card for him that had a picture of her saying, "Daddy, I Love You". And, tonight she has left a special treat for him by his pillow...


(the card, when flipped over, reveals a shark and three fish swimming in an ocean)

What has he done to deserve all the love?? He does treasure these items from her much more than the rest of us... they are proudly displayed downstairs in his office. On the other hand, she has seen me scan and toss several of her hand-crafted papers. Really, we can't be expected to save ALL the things given to us by our children. Can we? I do treasure them, but in a different way... one that won't take up space. I have several of her drawings, projects and writings right here where I can easily file and retrieve them... on the computer.

So, no matter whether they are propped up where everyone can see or stored electronically for a future scrapbook page... just know that Mommy and Daddy do treasure and appreciate every little piece of artwork that you create! Keep 'em coming... when we run out of space, we'll just get a bigger desk and a bigger hard drive.

Sanjay's Poem

On the long drive home, Priya and Sanjay were making up poems. After hearing the results, I think I probably need to give Sanjay a lesson in rhyming. Here was his best attempt:

Truck... Truck...
Where's my truck?
(long pause... possibly thinking of something to rhyme with truck)
Oh, here it is.

Weekend in the Mountains

Yesterday, it was time for Priya's third ski school lesson. In the morning, she kept saying that she didn't want to ski... blah, blah, blah. What kept running through my head was something my aunt told me last week about what she witnessed that made her think of me. She was skiing at Wisp in Maryland and while in the lodge a woman was talking to her daughter about how she would have to learn to ski because "this family skis and you are a part of this family". So, on the drive to Breckenridge, I used these exact words with Priya. Yeah... I don't think this had any affect on Priya because at the ski school, she could NOT be pryed loose from Daddy's legs. Two different instructors tried to take her back and Daddy tried some sweet talk, but nothing was working. Finally, I begged the instructor to just take her back against her will... turns out she was given some Skittles and the tears dried up quickly. She decided at the end of the day, that maybe she really could get into this skiing thing.

So, today she skiied with Mommy and Daddy and she can do it! She kept a great attitude and of course, as is predictable based on her personality, skiied with caution, control and precision. We accidentally ended up in a lift line that drops you on terrain that includes no beginner trails, so she was forced to ski an intermediate blue. We kinda hid this fact from her to avoid any unwanted reactions at the top of the hill. When we started down, she sensed that there was something different about this slope... it was quite a bit steeper. Her only comment was "Is this a different mountain? I want to go back over to that mountain over there". Once we reached the bottom, I let her in on the secret that the slope was actually a blue square, not a green circle and her eyes lit up in amazement. She looked genuinely proud of herself. We, too, were so proud of her this weekend for overcoming her doubts and fears... we have a lot to learn from this little girl.