twins – Groningen Rain

9 April 2021

“Can It Be For One Minute Please?”

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Eighty Six]

Every night around eight p.m. local time, we tell First Minion it’s time for bed and ever since I can remember since time immemorial he’s replied with a request for just one more minute.

Of course, he must’ve learned that at some point because I’m sure he wasn’t saying it with ‘please’ or nearly as many words when he was, say, two years old, but it’s been YEARS.

And when he asks for that one more minute, the condition of said minute is that he gets undressed for bed and then he gets about another five minutes of screen time.

Therefore, I’ve started telling him it’s bedtime at… ten BEFORE eight.

Which isn’t true.

And I feel absolutely NO guilt.

Because it will only work for so long before something shifts and nights are a new and wonderful puzzle to be solved.

But first the news:

The sun is staying up longer. And coming up earlier. And the twins are getting older. And so is First Minion. And it’s about time for everyone’s bedtimes to shift to later because they’re getting older, not because the nights are getting shorter. But it’s going to upset the delicate balance that currently exists only in my mind.

And?

The upstairs room is renovated. The construction is done. The bed is fixed. And made. The house is ready for Papa and I to move upstairs into our own floor, move First Minion into his own room, and the twins to have their own room.

It’s going to be absolute chaos.

I need one more minute.

One more day.

One more week before we throw the house into chaos, move everyone around, shift everyone’s bedtime and no one sleeps through the night.

I’m not ready.

Can I have one more week, please?

Maybe two?

5 April 2021

If You Can Dream It?

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Eighty Two]

Girl Twin and I went for a walk – she rode her balance bike while I walked.

Sometimes she would shoot ahead, letting her legs and the wheels take her faster than my walking gait.

“You must run, Mama.”

And sometimes I did.

But first the news:

But then the wind gusts blew and the light snow fell and suddenly, she couldn’t go fast anymore.

She was cold.

“If you go faster, you’ll get home quicker. Out of the cold.”

But she didn’t listen – she went slower.

The more I tried to get her to move it move it, she slower she went.

Until she stopped.

17 March 2021

Dear Girl Twin

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Sixty Three]

Let’s talk about appropriate alarm clocks, shall we?

Bringing me breakfast in bed.

Bringing me chocolate in bed.

Brining me English Breakfast tea with generous milk in bed.

And now for inappropriate alarm clocks.

Puke.

Screaming from another room.

Literally all other alarm clocks except for the aforementioned three appropriate alarm clocks.

But first the news:

Considering she’s now sleeping soundly next to me while I write this, I don’t think she’s learned her lesson.

Yet.

9 March 2021

Thx, Twins

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Fifty Five]

Last night’s complete lack of sleep is thanks to Girl Twin using the “I feel sick” as her only weapon, she spent the night in our bed while P attempted to sleep in other places around the house but totally failing and I finally got her back into her own bed but then she woke up howling at three something and then Boy Twin joined in and First Minion somehow slept through it all but Oh Em GEE today’s going to be delightful.

But first the news:

I’m just trying not to throw up from sleep deprivation at this point.

22 February 2021

Were You Born That Way?

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Forty]

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

Deborah Siegel, gender scholar and mother of boy/girl twins, brings to life key research about the gendering of childhood in the earliest years of life.

Taking us through a personal journey peppered with blunders and epiphanies, she challenges us to move beyond pink and blue and learn something new about gender from society’s smallest experts: our kids.

But first the news:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

Deborah wants us to remember to:

Embrace the purple.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Small change brings big change.