An October Afternoon

While planning our phone call for our pre-session consultation, this mom mentioned that her family would be close to home as they were potty training their daughter.  Although potty training is far behind me in the stages of parenting, it’s an experience that isn’t soon forgotten.  I have a whole host of stories about potty training my own kids that would make my them blush as teenagers (so I will spare you the details).  The only advice that I have to give is this: no child begins or ends that stage in the same way as another child.  Jelly beans and sticker charts work for some, while others will laugh in your face.  Some refuse to even look at a public potty, while some don’t care where they park their cheeks.  Parenting is messy, and there is a good reason why Clorox makes a bleach commercial with a story of potty training.  

It might seem ridiculous that “potty training” was something I jotted down in my notes about this family, but I think this stage of childhood says so much about what’s happening in the life of a family with a child that age.  To me, it means books and snacks and stickers and make believe and lots and lots of questions, a curiosity that cannot be satisfied.  To kids at this age, the world is so wide open and full of so many fun things, like neighborhood fall decorations and cracks in the sidewalk.  There are books and toys and favorite stuffed animals, and for this little one, there is lots and lots of pink (her favorite color).  She told me her favorite jokes and wasn’t afraid to swing high on her swing set.  And while she was swinging, she requested her mom read to her.  She read books on the bed, on the swing, and yes, while she was on the potty.  

The thing about stages in parenting is that we feel like they will go on forever.  But, they don’t.  Kids grow up and we grow with them.  My life is so different than it was when I was potty training and reading picture books and hearing made up jokes that I had to fake a laugh at in order to play along.  It’s a stage that’s physically and mentally exhausting, one that I frequently miss, and one that is worth documenting.