Aspen rocked her first My Gym class today. We both sported gigantic grins for the full 45 minutes…bouncy beach balls, slides, trampolines, bubbles…a veritable toddler paradise. I almost choked up at one point, watching her scramble away to play with the other kids and then pause to look back at me briefly—just to make sure I was still there. She was growing up before my eyes, as I was well warned she would do.Of course I may not have felt so emotional if they weren’t blasting Bob Seger over the loudspeaker:
“We’ve got tonight…who needs tomorrow? We’ve got to-NIGHT BABE! Why don’t you …stay?!”
Odd choice of music for a baby party? You bet. But you know secretly I loved it…in the way you love squeeze cheese, Cheetos and People Magazine when you’re buzzed or no one else is watching.
But then the needle hit the record….”rrrrr!!!”
Some 2-year old of the male persuasion thought it would be fun to bounce his ball on Aspen’s head. Once, twice…
Me: ”ah, that’s cute” (still smiling)
Him: …three times, four times, harder now…
Me: now forcing smile, but with inner monologue “oh my god if he hits her again I’m gonna lose it.”
She glanced up casually to see who was standing above her, and thankfully his pea-sized toddler wienie brain tired of the game and moved on. Truthfully, I think I minded the spectacle more than she did. But this is likely the first of many lessons in letting her fight her own battles. And that will be a tough one for me.