Raising Devils

Moment Moment Moment

Saturday, May 14th, 2011 | Connecting the Dots

I love my NPR. In the car, it’s pretty much solid NPR all day long, unless it’s Car Talk or one of the guest-oriented programs has someone on that I’m just not into.

But NPR creates conflicts—namely, that all of my kids consider themselves, as conversationalists, way, way, WAY more interesting than even the most fascinating NPR story. And so should I, right? They will only be young enough to want to share with me, for a 25 minute drive, their vision of what our house would look like as a farm, with illustrations, for a little while.

I try to at least not acknowledge that I’m only half-listening. I do want them to talk. I’m glad that they talk. I enjoy it all in the abstract and in the idea and in the retelling. I’m just not good at enjoying it in the moment.

This morning, though, I brought Lily to a birthday party half-an-hour away (the perils of country living), and she felt chatty. And happy. And Lily is so often singing her complaining song that a happy Lily is something to be seized and subtly rewarded with as much love and attention and affection as I can pour on, in the hope that she will finally conclude that it’s better for her and for everyone else if she manages to moderate her fierce storms of misery when things don’t go her way.

(Unfortunately, personal experience suggests she’s got about another thirty-plus years of learning to go before that idea takes hold.)

And NPR? NPR was offering a story of runaway teens on the streets of Hollywood. Interesting? Oh yes. But what is a story like that for, if not to remind you to seize the moment with your own sons and daughters? What else can you possibly do?

I turned off the radio.

Related posts:

1. The Failure of the Living Classroom
2. Never Best Left Unspoken
3. Explaining “I Did Not Love My Adopted Child” to My Very Real, Very Loved Daughter
4. Love, that Thing That We Talk About
5. Why I Can’t Read

Tags: Lily, the me i want to be, the moment

1 Comment to Moment Moment Moment

thewonderfulhappens
Saturday, May 14, 2011

I am the same way in the car with my NPR. I’ve missed so many compelling stories either because my kids were talking or because the content was inappropriate for their ears (bombings, death tolls). But yes, as much as I just want to veg out and listen to something “grown up”, their stories are usually funnier and more relevant to me!