I expected much of what my son did during his first year – rolling over, sitting, that thrilling first word (“mama”!), those awful restless nights of teething. But nothing prepared me for the sheer craziness and hilarity of living with a sixteen month old.
Lately Ezra delights in moving things from one container to another. So right now, the laundry hamper in the bathroom contains a pile of Kleenex, a thermos, three different balls, a toy truck, and the contents of my husband’s wallet. Last night we found every last one of Ezra’s clean socks in said laundry hamper, as Ezra busily transferred the contents of another drawer into a mixing bowl.
Last week, my husband raced around the house in a frenzy looking for his keys. He found them in the trash – with one of Ezra’s shirts.
I put a pot on the stove yesterday. When I removed the lid, I found a washcloth, a ping pong ball, and a wooden spoon. Later in the afternoon, when I opened the bottom kitchen drawer to grab a reusable canvas grocery bag, I discovered one of my tennis shoes there.
I have to admit that sometimes when I’m trying to put the house together, it’s exhausting to live with this busy little elf who seems so delighted by chaos. But most of the time, I can’t help but laugh at this creative, entirely unexpected stage he’s in.
Ezra’s brain works so differently than mine. He doesn’t see a teapot as a teapot. He sees it as a possible receptacle for balls, an ideal Kleenex holder, or the perfect place to store his piece of toast. These days, I often find myself on the floor with him trying to balance a ball on a spoon or stuffing a washcloth in the colander.
I think my little boy might teach me how to think inside the box yet.
If you liked this post, you may enjoy these related posts:
- Learning to Enjoy the Journey
- Finding Wildness
- Learning to Listen
- Thinking Inside the Box
- A Wabi Sabi Life
- Want Peas With That?
- Learning Outside the Lines
It doesn’t get anymore sane as they get older. My kids still see everything just slightly different than the rest of us, which is so refreshing and keeps life in perspective. Enjoy it!
I know, we have so much to look forward to. I always want time to stand still, but every new stage is also so much fun.
Thank you for this. I am reading this while listening to my five year-old little guy sing while he is “arting” and your reflections bring warm memories to the surface of life in our last tiny city apartment when he was a toddler. It was such a delight to catch him doing his “hiding” and to see him re-purpose everything in his reach. All of that was over in a flash… but there are hints of this playfulness still. Enjoy these days in the box!
Thanks for the reminder that it all goes way too fast.
My husband and I call this the stirring stage. Our house gets completely re-stirred every 4 hours or so with our toddler, and we always check the trash:)
The stirring stage. I like it.
I was reading this nodding and laughing. It’s very common for me to be putting laundry away while my daughter empties the contents of my dresser drawers. And just the other day I found some magnetic letters wrapped in a kitchen towel in a drawer. Oh, the little surprises they leave!
I know, it’s so fun to find their little treasures all over the place!
My baby is still in the stage where she just empties things out: drawers, boxes, bags, cups. It sounds nice to actually have things PUT INTO something else instead of just tossed on the floor for the dog to get! 🙂 Oh, the joys of parenthood. I love the perspective you give in this post, reminding me to just enjoy each stage they go through.
I know, cleaning with a baby is like taking one step forward, while they set you two steps back! Good thing they’re so darn adorable, eh?