This post was inspired by this Facebook conversation.
Logan McKenna: My mum just called me a wuss/loser. So I’m putting it up for a vote and letting y’all decide whether I’m a wuss/loser. lol
Stewart: god no
Rachael: I agree with stewart!
Logan McKenna: Thanks guys 🙂
Emily: no freaking way
Alica Mckenna Johnson: RUDE! He wasn’t able to do a hand stand push up. A mom has to have standards.
Logan McKenna: Hey, I wasn’t able to stay balanced after doing the push up.
Alica Mckenna Johnson: No excuses!! Would a Navy Seal be whining like this? I think not!
Logan McKenna: I was stating a fact not whining 😛
Alica Mckenna Johnson: whatever. It was in your tone.
Logan McKenna: How can you tell what my tune is over text? and so far it’s 4 to 1
Alica Mckenna Johnson: TONE your tone of voice, but the tune you are humming is also very whiny.
Logan McKenna: What tune was I humming? I don’t remember humming anything, unless you are saying that the hum of my heart is whining
Alica Mckenna Johnson: I didn’t want to say so in front of your friends but yes, yes it is.
Logan McKenna: Haha. I know there was a reason I liked to hang out around you just after I worked out so that my humming heart would annoy you
Alica Mckenna Johnson: lol. You’re such a brat
Logan McKenna: I am, and proud of it. And this brat is going to Circle K to get a Dr. Pepper
So this conversation got me thinking, what are the standards I have for my son? I thought long and hard about this, echoes from my feminist upbringing urging me to use words like sensitive, understanding, able to cook. And all of that is great but really I want my son to be able to do handstand push-ups on a bed of nails. Recycle glass bottles and fabric when he makes his Molotov cocktails, and dance to ‘Party Rockin’ while picking out the drug lord he needs to take out.
Yes I want my son to be an action movie hero, with enough kung-fu movie hero to make him extremely lethal, and a dash of Joss Whedon hero because then he would have witty one liners and could cook.
Someday instead of Chuck Norris sayings there could be saying about Logan.
When Logan goes to save a puppy, angels cry at his compassion.
When Logan goes home, he travels over buildings because gods don’t walk upon the street.
When Logan gets diamonds for his mum, he makes them by hand.
So what movies have inspired your parenting skills?
haha! Great post. I love the report you have with your son.
A movie that has inspired my parenting is “Martian Child,” and it’s about living with lots of compassion for your child. And then The Village changed me too, in regards to not keeping secrets from your children (when they’re able to hear them).
But honestly, I really hope my girls grow up to be like the girls in Firefly. Kick ass! =)
Seems to me that Logan should always remember that you see him as superhuman. Perhaps we should all keep in mind, for the superheroes in our lives, that very few are superhuman in more than one or two ways. It is capitalizing on your strengths that takes us from simply superhuman to supehero.
True, however knowing your weakness is important too. I can’t wait to see what Logan decides to do with his life and watching him grow up is a thrill.
I can understand that, I feel the same about a certain “almost” five year-old. I can just imagine your exceitement as he is approaching the man he will be!
It is fun to watch them grow up
I think Logan is a bad-ass to even attempt a handstand push-up that isn’t up against the wall!
When my son was little, Star Wars was my guide. I’d ask him What Would Obi-Wan Do? to get him to do the right thing. Now it’s Lord of the Rings. I want him to be like Strider.
Strider rocks! That is definitely a worthy goal. Star wars is a great guide, I love that you guided your son to figure out the right choice instead of telling him what it was!
I took a whole duffle bag of “parenting” movies to the hospital with Karina, but ended up laboring to Terminator 2, in hopes of pupping out a little action hero. So far, it is totally NOT her. She is sensitive, understanding, and able to cook, lol. But I figure maybe that’s the point–to remind myself to push her to be a little more adventurous, a little tougher, and a lot more thick-skinned. It’s good to have that reminder of my long-ago goal, because if I just responded to Karina’s personality the two of us would just end up sitting in dark room listening to the Cure and talking about our feelings. And I’ve already done my goth decade, thanks.
Also: Logan looks like Jayne from Firefly in that hat, and that is awesome.
I knitted that hat it is a Jane hat, not the perfect shades of yellow and orange but close enough- he actually asked for it! Hey the sensitive type can be totally kick ass- think Willow and Tara, they rock and they are girly and sweet- well except that time Willow went evil.
I want my kids to be cast in the remakes of Monty Python films. If they can make odd, dry-humor jokes in British accents, I’ll be soooo proud. LOL.
OMG- that would be so cool! Buy them some coconuts so they can ride horses! LOL The first book my son really read was Harry Potter- to this day when he writes to me he calls me mum, I love it. Good luck on the British accent- it can be tricky.