Balloons

I realized the other day, when Tiana, our two year old, was given a balloon by the cashier at our local supermarket, that I have been witness to that hand off for almost seven years now. In the early days, when it was just John Andrew, I remember planning all of our outings so carefully and relishing the exotic locale (so different from the back patio, playground, or Gymboree class) that was Publix. After adding two more kids, I often forget to ask for the balloon for Tiana. Maybe that's why she holds on to hers for days afterwards, W A Y after the helium has left the balloon, tucking it away in her room while our older kids always seemed to set them free before I could even load the groceries into our car!

Seven years, three kids and countless balloons later and I still can't boil down what I do, for myself or anyone else. It's funny, when I was in graduate school, I left the University of Chicago because it was expected that to finish your PhD you would need to spend about seven years there, writing away. Too much time, so much patience...more than I imagined I had in me. Seven years was a third of my life, at that point.

John Andrew, our almost seven year old, has begun referring to his experiences in a time context like this, "I've never seen anything like that in my entire life," or "It's taken me my whole life to get on this train ride." Still, his birthday party looms large on my list of things to do and I certainly am NOT on the brink of earning my doctorate in child-navigation. Heck, I'm still working on my official title. I like "pediatric life coach," "child stylist and cook," "resident comedian and scheduler," and "researcher." The last one is good because someday, I'd like to be a motivational speaker, so my resume could read, "...after many years of research, Ms. Penne-Tringas has developed a proven method..." I'll be available to speak on topics such as, "

Yes, my hands are full, I actually enjoy it...I never hear anyone complain about having a full wallet," "Always take a broom to a BBQ restaurant, and other tips for entertaining a toddler," and of course "The Parenting journey: groceries, balloons and other stops along the way."