"Reflections of 2010"
Reflections of 2010-Published 1.5.11 Cass Lake Times.
By Allan Olson
By anyone’s account, 2010 did not start out well for our family. A few days into the new year, we learned that my father in-law passed away, which shocked the entire family. It was a difficult time to cope with all the things that go with a loss of a loved one. We continue to remember the many things we did with him, and the family feels the impact he made on each individual.
As with all things, time helps heal the wounds, and we progressed through the year only to be rocked with another death – my grandma – at the end of June. That, too, was difficult to get through but, we coped, and continue to remember her legacy of love for her family.
Thankfully, the year wasn’t entirely filled with sadness. We had many things to be thankful for.
As I’ve written about for the last several months, I am the father of four active children, and they keep my wife and me very busy dealing with their love, fights, fits and, of course, their daily needs. Thankfully, the kids recognize that we are trying to do our best for them, and continue to show their love for us.
“I want a hug,” Abigail will say, randomly walking up to us. “Okay.” Now, to be clear, it’s about a 60-40 split when she wants that hug. It could be because she got in trouble, or is trying to avoid doing something she was asked to.
So many milestones were accomplished this year. One of the biggest for us is that after four years we have no children left in pull-ups or diapers of any kind. For us (and them), that is a great achievement.
“No accidents,” Abigail will say some mornings. “Great,” I will reply, and it’s usually followed by a high five.
Another fun achievement this summer was getting the twins riding bikes.
Our cautious and ever-so-serious Marcus started out in his usual format, taking bike riding seriously and carefully at the beginning of the spring, but by fall’s end he was cruising like a pro with his training wheels.
Abigail, like she does most things in her life, tackled bike riding with reckless abandon. Many accidents occurred due to her “need for speed,” but she, too, has learned to ride like a pro (with the assistance of the extra wheels).
Those two were also learning to ride without the extra wheels, but while making progress, they have yet to master the center of balance on their bikes.
Camping was another part of our life last summer.
“When can we go camping again?” Abigail asked recently.
“Why?” I replied.
“It was so much fun,” she responded with enthusiasm.
“What was fun?” I asked.
“Riding bike to the bathroom,” she said.
Of the many things we did on our camping trip, that was the most fun in her mind.
Our other camping trip was at the family cabin, and for her, the best part of that was camping with many of her cousins.
While she hasn’t mentioned it lately, another favorite for her this summer was climbing the fire towers at St. Croix State Park and Itasca State Park.
As with all kids, they are starting to grow up too fast. This has been more evident this year, as all of our children are over the age of three. At one point in the not-too-distant past, we had four children age four and under. Now even my “little ones” are big kids, according to them.
Our oldest, Nikolai, has gained freedom, but during the course of the summer he learned the hard way about what happens when he goes beyond the limits of freedom allowed. Along with freedom comes responsibility, and we work with him on daily chores that accompany his newfound freedom.
For our youngest, Alivia, 2010 was about growth and learning. With three older siblings, she is picking up on things far more quickly than we would like, but at the same time she is coming to realize that following her older siblings doesn't always mean it’s a good thing, as they all tend to get in trouble.
For 2011, I’m just hoping to keep my sanity while raising four children. No grandiose dreams of winning the lottery – although if it happened I wouldn’t object. Primarily, I hope that my kids stay healthy. For myself, I really just want to make sure I have a little time to spend with my children while they still want my attention and affection.
I always remember my mother saying she would invent a shrinking potion for us boys growing up, and now I’m starting to understand why.
Thanks for reading, and I wish everyone a wonderful 2011. Remember, we appreciate your feedback, so feel free to drop us a line at cltimes1@arvig.net. For more of my columns, please visit my blog at: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com/.
By Allan Olson
By anyone’s account, 2010 did not start out well for our family. A few days into the new year, we learned that my father in-law passed away, which shocked the entire family. It was a difficult time to cope with all the things that go with a loss of a loved one. We continue to remember the many things we did with him, and the family feels the impact he made on each individual.
As with all things, time helps heal the wounds, and we progressed through the year only to be rocked with another death – my grandma – at the end of June. That, too, was difficult to get through but, we coped, and continue to remember her legacy of love for her family.
Thankfully, the year wasn’t entirely filled with sadness. We had many things to be thankful for.
As I’ve written about for the last several months, I am the father of four active children, and they keep my wife and me very busy dealing with their love, fights, fits and, of course, their daily needs. Thankfully, the kids recognize that we are trying to do our best for them, and continue to show their love for us.
“I want a hug,” Abigail will say, randomly walking up to us. “Okay.” Now, to be clear, it’s about a 60-40 split when she wants that hug. It could be because she got in trouble, or is trying to avoid doing something she was asked to.
So many milestones were accomplished this year. One of the biggest for us is that after four years we have no children left in pull-ups or diapers of any kind. For us (and them), that is a great achievement.
“No accidents,” Abigail will say some mornings. “Great,” I will reply, and it’s usually followed by a high five.
Another fun achievement this summer was getting the twins riding bikes.
Our cautious and ever-so-serious Marcus started out in his usual format, taking bike riding seriously and carefully at the beginning of the spring, but by fall’s end he was cruising like a pro with his training wheels.
Abigail, like she does most things in her life, tackled bike riding with reckless abandon. Many accidents occurred due to her “need for speed,” but she, too, has learned to ride like a pro (with the assistance of the extra wheels).
Those two were also learning to ride without the extra wheels, but while making progress, they have yet to master the center of balance on their bikes.
Camping was another part of our life last summer.
“When can we go camping again?” Abigail asked recently.
“Why?” I replied.
“It was so much fun,” she responded with enthusiasm.
“What was fun?” I asked.
“Riding bike to the bathroom,” she said.
Of the many things we did on our camping trip, that was the most fun in her mind.
Our other camping trip was at the family cabin, and for her, the best part of that was camping with many of her cousins.
While she hasn’t mentioned it lately, another favorite for her this summer was climbing the fire towers at St. Croix State Park and Itasca State Park.
As with all kids, they are starting to grow up too fast. This has been more evident this year, as all of our children are over the age of three. At one point in the not-too-distant past, we had four children age four and under. Now even my “little ones” are big kids, according to them.
Our oldest, Nikolai, has gained freedom, but during the course of the summer he learned the hard way about what happens when he goes beyond the limits of freedom allowed. Along with freedom comes responsibility, and we work with him on daily chores that accompany his newfound freedom.
For our youngest, Alivia, 2010 was about growth and learning. With three older siblings, she is picking up on things far more quickly than we would like, but at the same time she is coming to realize that following her older siblings doesn't always mean it’s a good thing, as they all tend to get in trouble.
For 2011, I’m just hoping to keep my sanity while raising four children. No grandiose dreams of winning the lottery – although if it happened I wouldn’t object. Primarily, I hope that my kids stay healthy. For myself, I really just want to make sure I have a little time to spend with my children while they still want my attention and affection.
I always remember my mother saying she would invent a shrinking potion for us boys growing up, and now I’m starting to understand why.
Thanks for reading, and I wish everyone a wonderful 2011. Remember, we appreciate your feedback, so feel free to drop us a line at cltimes1@arvig.net. For more of my columns, please visit my blog at: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com/.
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