Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Thinks I've Been Thinking

I made a career (albeit a short one, but a career nonetheless) out of teaching children how to read. After all the times I've seen it, it still never ceases to amaze me how magical it is once a child finally figures reading out. All of a sudden, they just know how to string the sounds together to make words and new worlds open up because of it. And even though I've seen one of my children learn to read before, I'm just as excited for Alice . . . because it has suddenly clicked. Today she can read. Last week she couldn't (if you don't count phonics readers). Isn't it amazing?

Next week Michael and I will have been married ten years. And that has me thinking another think . . . Isn't it funny how ten years can feel like such a long time and such a short time also? As I've aged perspective must have aged with me. $10,000 doesn't seem like nearly as much money as it used to. $100,000 seems to have diminished in value as well. A week doesn't feel like very long to wait for something big (a birthday or a holiday) anymore, and every year when school starts I find myself asking where the summer has gone. I remember hearing adults talk about time and money this way when I was a child, and thinking they were nuts. Even if we are nuts, I wouldn't trade these ten years or make them move any faster or slower. They have been perfect. Though an extra $10,000 wouldn't kill me.

We finally relented to the children's incessant pleas for a pet and added a betta fish to our family. They seem happy with it, even though it is not a dog. The fish naming process was interesting to overhear. First he was named Fish. Then Silver. Then Lightning. Then Seth wanted Laser Head and Alice wanted Happy Fish, so they compromised with Happy Laser Fish, which was his name for all of a day. Michael kept plugging the name Eric but since the kids have (thankfully) never seen Monty Python, the humor of a pet fish named Eric is lost on them. Finally, one morning the two kids came to breakfast with a consensus. The fish is named Redhead. Thomas still calls him Silver. And Redhead, in his quiet fishy way, calls Thomas The Harbinger of Fishy Doom and Destruction that will Probably be my Death.
I suppose we'll have to wait to see how long that little boy will actually keep his paws out of the fishbowl.

7 comments:

Tamy said...

Rick and I have been married for 10 years and it seems to have flown by. I agree $10,000 doesn't seem like a lot any more and Christmas seems to creep up on me every year. I swear I was just Christmas shopping and I just bought my first present.

Anonymous said...

Good thing I'm not around.....and not Thomas' age....or else that fish would be gone in about 10 minutes. Haha! Not that I MEANT to be a fish killer! I never meant to harm any of them. Let's just hope Thomas doesn't follow in the footsteps of Aunt Emily's relationships with gilled creatures.....

Swordfish said...

I agree, time is interesting. Summer was very long to me, and I can see why my mother used to say "how long until school starts?" Now school is starting and I can't believe I have a kid in middle school....I'm not sure you heard me right, I have a kid in Middle School. I still think $10,000 seems like a lot and I could use it now for a new vehicle, but it is a lot more attainable than it was 10 years ago. Good thoughts Mandy. Good luck on the fish. I wonder if the fish thinks of T like the fish on Nemo think of Darla when she taps on teh tank? Just a thought.

vcsings said...

Good luck with Redhead. T may surprise you and not bother your fish.(Hee Hee Hee)!Love you!

Parkside View said...

A mother of grown children once told me, "With children, the days may be long, but the years are short." It's weird, but somehow very true.

Amy D said...

A nice new addition to the family! Congrats! And happy anniversary. So exciting that Alice can read!

amydear said...

Good for you for getting a pet! We're working our way up to a fish too.