Day 179 The Perfect Mom Project

Somehow I think my life is going in a giant circle. I remember about 10 years ago, I was walking early in the morning with my girlfriend. It was probably about 34 degrees outside and we were talking about how kids did not dress for the weather, and I expressed my frustration and dislike for it. I had quite a bit to say about "those kids", and then when I got home that morning, Ashleigh walked out of her bedroom and she was wearing Capri pants and high heel open toe sandals. At the time I thought it was important to say to her, "Its cold out there!" Ashleigh replied with the universal teen response, "I'll be fine Mom!" with the word Mom drawn out in an exasperated tone.

 Flash forward to this morning, when my cell phone was ringing on my way home from working out, "Hello?" "Hi, Mom, can you give me a ride to the bus this morning?" At this point I am curious, "I guess so, why?" Aly replied that she just wanted a ride. As I was pulling in the drive, Mark was pulling out to go to work, so I asked him what was going on, and he told me that she was wearing Capri pants today. My response to him was "I do not give rides to people who are being stupid!" When I got in the house I looked at Aly and suggested that maybe today was not the best day for her to wear her sweat pant Capri's, perhaps she could wear them on a day when her Dad drives her for student counsel, but she was determined to wear her short pants. I told her I could not drive her this morning because I had to shower and get going right away today.

 Honestly, I could have driven her, but I thought it might be good for her to feel the cold air on her ankles. I thought it might be a chilly wake up call. I know if I had challenged her about the pants and made a big deal out of not driving her, it would not have been as good a lesson as her walking to the corner with her legs flapping in the breeze. Now I am sitting here feeling guilty for my tough love moment. In the big picture, she knew she was going to be cold, that is why she asked me for a ride. Apparently, she had a strong desire to wear the Capri pants, after all they were new.

 I find myself wishing that when you went through something with your oldest child that the information would automatically download to the younger children. I think that would help the parenting process immensely. Think about how much easier parenting would be if you only had to pass through many of the challenging moments once. You would not have to stand there scratching your head thinking, "Didn't I just have this discussion?" I know it is not practical, but a girl can dream can't she? I say this as my youngest is standing at the door waiting for the carpool and she has just announced she forgot to make her lunch. So I have to go and get her some money to buy her lunch today, so my dream time is over. Now I am wondering if my youngest just scammed me, so she would not have to make lunch! I can tell I am in the parenting trenches today.