Sparkle Goes To A Show

 

Sparkle and I went to a dog show recently.  These are a few pictures that Sparkle took himself. 

Sparkle basically had a good time, but he was more excited about the fact that we went through the drive through at McDonald's on our way home than anything else.  It's silly to take a child somewhere just because I want to go there.  Sparkle said he wanted to come, but I think it was more because he wanted to be the one to go with me than that he actually wanted to see anything at the show.  It's awesome that just the two of us got to do something together, but it wasn't really fair of me to take a six year old to something he wasn't very interested in, especially since I did want to watch some things.

When I was six I would have loved to do this, but guess what?  Kids have their own interests!  My job is to provide opportunities to try things, but just because I think it would be cool if he was interested in something doesn't mean he will be.  Bummer.

Sparkle really was a total sweetie...  He was very, very well behaved, especially for a slightly bored six year old boy in a place where he can't really run and yell.

I gave him the camera to try taking some pictures and then I went back to watching something else.  When I looked over at him he had pushed the wrong button on the camera and was then grabbing the camera by the lens.  I was slightly annoyed but not angry.  I had given him that camera because it's pretty inexpensive and durable and I didn't think he could damage it.  He was just trying to figure it out, no big deal.

That evening I downloaded the camera and saw that Sparkle had accidentally taken a few short videos as well as the pictures.  The last one was video of the grass/sky/grass/sky as he turned the camera around trying to figure out what he was doing.  And I heard myself in the background saying, "Sparkle!  Don't hold the camera like that!  If you can't handle it correctly then I'm going to put it away!"

Oh wow...

I couldn't believe how awful I sounded.  If one of the kids used that voice with me I would correct them and tell them to use a respectful tone.  For pete's sake, I gave the poor kid the camera with minimal instructions on how to use it.

I watched the video just after putting the boys to bed, and when I saw it I actually went to apologize to Sparkle.  He was already asleep.  And to be honest I forgot about it and never apologized.

It was pretty humbling and I'm trying to be more aware of my tone with the boys, making sure I speak to them with patience and gentleness.

Anyway...  we had some fun and some french fries, so it's all good.  I do wish I'd had another adult with me so we could chuckle at some of the Very Serious Dog People.

Comments

[Leigh]

I love those dog shows on tv. Those folks are very serious about their dogs. They put the dog treats in their mouth to moisten them. Yuck. As much as I love Coco, I would never pre-moisten in my mouth a scooby snack.

I think that's great you wanted to apologize. I've done the same. I grew up in an era where parents never apologized for anything.

[wendy]

I also catch myself speaking meanly or yelling at the kids and feel sick about it. I need to work on that.

Very Serious Dog People (made me chuckle when I read that). I don't understand it. I guess that's because I am not an animal lover.

[Heidi]

I can relate, but it is always good to introduce your children to new things. How else will they have the opportunity to find out if they are interested?

and do I ever relate with the talking respectfully. this is something that my husband and I both need to work on so much. when I hear my kids talk to me, I am sick about how I have taught them to talk. yeah, not a fun realization and something that I am always trying to work on. I can tell that you are a very caring, and gentle mother, don't be too hard on yourself.

I would love to watch the serious talk people, I am thinking "best of show" right now.

[Heidi]

I meant serious pet people