My son is part of the middle school band so every single thing he encounters turns into some type of percussion instrument. We were waiting for our food so he was clanging the fork against the knife. It. Drives. Me. Nuts!
He absent mindedly uses his knuckles to bang out a beat. Some days he might change it up and use his palms. Other times he is in his room with sticks and a practice pad. I wonder how much of this helps him in the classroom and for concerts.
Sometimes it is better to just not say anything at all. This also kinda drives me nuts. Aidan believes eating with his hands makes the food taste better. (I’m seeing a pattern here… what can he do to drive me nuts…)
He sometimes (always) eats his salad with his hands. We coach (and yell) but it does little good. I have caught him shoving fistfulls of spinach into his mouth when he thinks no one is watching. Somedays I think it is because he hates it and this is just a faster way to get it over with. There is a HUGE upside to this, he is eating things that are not just meat!
It is all about the little wins.
We visited a national park today. We had to travel through a metal detector and little did we know they also have a radiation sensor somewhere nearby. Someone or something set it off so we all had to hold tight while they took a secondary scan of the area. I have never had this happen before but the whole area was dead silent, it was pretty interesting.
Side note… they allowed a woman to carry a foldable saw in the museum. It was in her camera bag. She said it was to cut limbs when she was out on her photo shoots. I was skeptical. They pulled it out and the security personnel laughed a little and told her it was OK.
It was a huge menacing blade, how is that OK?
Bob Ross Positive Energy Drink. Aidan was pumped but that faded after the first sip. What is it with Bob Ross that middle school kids love?
Four little snapshots of the day. Four tiny little moments that are just a memory now. Four little times in my life I don’t want to forget. There are times when the kids were younger that I couldn’t wait until they were older so they could/ we could (FILL IN THE BLANK). Maybe it is age but I am trying to savor every minute.
(Kids… if you ever read this know that I did try. There are times when I get stressed or express my thoughts with passion (you might call it yelling) but I do loved these days.)
Tiny Slice Of My Life 
I get that you might get annoyed with your son when he is beating an imaginary drum. Him eating his food with his hands would bother me more than the musical noise especially when you are out in public.
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I recently heard an interview on NPR (Fresh Air) with Drummer Hal Blaine, who played on thousands of hits, and laid down what is thought to be one of music’s most memorable riffs on the Ronette’s “Be My Baby” (which you are much too young to know). Blaine said that as a kid he was constantly drumming and driving everyone nuts. Maybe stardom is in your son’s future!
Snapshots of your day were vivid in your writing. I foldable saw was OK? Goodness.
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Time spent with kids is well spent time. Memory building.
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This was great…you more than tried! You successfully wrote a great slice in 4 snapshots.
A saw?? really?
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Wonderful slice and well put words at the end. When our kids were young I often found myself hoping to store certain memories forever, and hoping that they didn’t remember certain memories (mom’s tirades!) forever… Now I know that we all share such different memories of those days gone by but they are still dear to all of us.
It looks like you had a great break – they are lucky to have you…
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These snapshots are priceless! Sounds like you’ve made some great memories over Spring Break!
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This was so amazing to read. All of it. The good, the bad, the messy. Your message to your children (at the end of the post) is everything.
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