Ah, There it Goes
May 7, 2008
When I dropped my entire spice rack on the ceramic-tile kitchen floor this morning, shattering glass and spewing cinnamon and basil everywhere, my two-year-old, after a look of startled concern, said, “Ah, there it goes, Mommy?”
“Yes, Honey,” I responded, after recovering for a moment myself. “Ah, there it goes.”
We like to use this phrase in our house when things break or end. Everything goes at some point. Accepting it sure makes life easier.
It’s funny, though, that my first response was much more “oh no!” until I realized my daughter was looking to me to know how to react herself. We went through the knee-jerk negative reaction at first (because I did) and then got to “ah, there it goes” fairly quickly, but I think she was definitely there before me — repeating what we’ve told her and young enough to be open to actually reacting in different ways to spilled spices. Next step for me is un-learning the knee-jerk, skipping the “oh no,” I guess.
Tired tonight. Crazy day. And, ah, there it goes.
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1.
Dr. Paul | May 7, 2008 at 6:32 am
Love it! Wouldn’t it be great to start defining our successes more through stuff that is more meaningful than stuff. I like the mission statement for your blog. Keep up the good work.
2.
Shawn | May 7, 2008 at 10:17 am
I needed this last week when our Big Pink ball popped in the rose bushes and two toddlers felt it was the end of the world no longer having said Pink Ball.
Big Purple Ball has arrived, but is not the same.
But, spices? Ouch. They are a pain to replace. But, ah, there it goes.
Hope I remember this when I lose my temper today. : )
3.
Vanessa | May 8, 2008 at 6:20 pm
At our house you’ll hear “Live and learn” a lot. Totally screwed something up? “Oh well, live and learn.” Missed out on something because you didn’t have all the information? “Live and learn.”
I also like to announce “Hey, I found the curb!” if I hit it while parallel parking, which happens more often than I care to admit.
4.
rowena | May 10, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I really like that philosophy. “Ah, there it goes.” The idea that everything comes to an end so we might as well not hold on to it when it goes. And it’s not just about things, it’s about experiences or phases of life, or, well, life itself.
If this is the way we look at the world, then change is not nearly so terrifying. We wouldn’t need to cling to that which we already have and know, because we would understand that it is just time for it to end, so we can move on to the next job, home, ball, project, spice rack.