correction

its funny, as my kids get older, to see the ways their personalities develop.  this past weekend i was evidently feeling nostalgic, because everything i saw made me think of the kids growing up so fast.  last night i saw my son's black dress shoes sitting by the door.  even though they are so small compared to his daddy's shoes next to them, they looked big all of the sudden.  i was folding clothes and thinking about those tiny infant-sized clothes i once folded.  i remember being amazed at the way one small child could exponentially increase my laundry volume each day! 
i guess the kids pick up phrases and behaviors from things they see on tv and at school.  i have noticed some interesting dance moves from my daughter and strange words coming from my sons mouth. i dont understand these things. my daughter does some strange dance with her eyes closed and her arms waving in the air while she says in a slow voice "i give you monkey needs".  i have no idea what that means, but its entertaining. my son thinks hes a break dance king. ...and, well, he is.
along with the hilarity of these strange skills comes the infuriating sass of early childhood.  the kids were playing outside the other day and they waned to take a quilt with them to make a tent. i told them no, i didnt want a quilt to get muddy.  my darling daughter replied "you'll regret that." WHAT!?! really? "YOU might regret that!" --- i wanted to say.  i told her not to talk to me like that, she said 'yes ma'am' and went on with her day. later, when i sought advice from a friend, she suggested that i ask my kids what they think those words mean.  why didnt i think of that? my daughter might not have even known what those words meant when she said them. (or maybe she did) this 'raising kids' gig really takes a lot of learning on my part.
last night in church, my daughter was drawing. her dad and i told her to stop, and she said 'no'.  because i was the closest to her, i put my 'hand of correction' firmly on her leg to let her know that i meant business. for a minute, she tried to pull my hand away and scoot over out of my reach. i didnt move. i may have held on tighter. after a few minutes of resistance, she put her paper and pen down, held my hand (instead of trying to take it away) and snuggled up close to me.
it made me wonder how many times i had done the same thing in my life.