Weeds, Pilates, and Hobbes

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . finding out that my mother-in-law probably caught our miserable cough when we visited her on Sunday. Sigh . . . I hoped we weren't contagious any more.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . glancing out my window and seeing our Korean neighbor weeding my container garden.

. . . Joy suggesting that we start a Pilates video so we can get some exercise. I sure needed it.

. . . Daniel calming down when I hugged him during his pediatric checkup today. I'm glad that I'm a comfort to him.

And another thing . . .

. . . Joy has now decided that she is Hobbes and Daniel is Calvin. I would have chosen to be Hobbes, too.

. . . I know it's common for kids to imitate their parents, but this is a little silly: Daniel sees me blow my nose so often these days that he's started asking me to blow his, too, even though it doesn't need it.

. . . it's hard to strike a balance between teaching my kids self-reliance and fostering an atmosphere of love and service. I want Joy to learn to do things for herself and ask for assistance when she needs it (rather than, say, just announcing "I can't pedal this bike" and waiting for someone to come give her a push). However, I also want to teach her to serve others (especially her little brother), and I want Daniel to perceive his sister as a positive presence in his life, not just someone who provides entertainment and competes for toys. I suspect that demonstrating service is a critical part of teaching it, so I think I need to look for more opportunities to serve my daughter, and show her opportunities to serve others.