So, its March. I didn't QUITE make my goal of a new blog post every six months, although at the time this seemed like something I could, maybe, manage. Yet, alas. Most days I can hardly manage to find my keys, and get out the door having eating breakfast, and without wearing my coffee. I have what you might call a disorganization problem.
Sadly, all three of my lovely children inherited what I will call the "disorganization gene" which means, as a family, we move in this sad disaster of disorganization on an almost constant basis. And, trust me, you "born organized" people. I try. I really, really try. But, managing my own disorganized self, plus my three walking tornadoes, is really more than I can manage most days, especially since my children don't seem to care how organized (or not organized) they are.
Case in point: My lovely 6 year old has a tendency to leave shoes everywhere and anywhere they fall off her feet. And socks, as well, but that is another story. But, as to the shoes, shoes are totally expendable, and something of a modern nuisance. If she could manage to go without them, she would. As things stand, she sheds them as soon as she can, with absolutely no regard to where she is, and when she might need them again. Which means, we often spend 10-15 minutes in the morning looking for where she last put her shoes. And, trust me, I am allergic to morning, and I am not particularly kind or sunny when I am forced to delay our departure over, yet again, misplaced shoes. Yes (shh born organized people) I KNOW that if I just enforced the rule that she had to put her shoes in the same place every day, then we would not have this problem. I know this. However, you understand this requires that I actually be organized enough to remember that I have to enforce that she put her shoes in the right place every time. Which, if you haven't figured out yet, is... well.. let's just say consistency is not my strong suit right.
So, comes Monday morning and we are headed out the door for school and I look down and realize that there is only one shoe. I ask my daughter, where is the other shoe. She doesn't know. Of course she doesn't know. How could she possibly remember where she took off a shoe? We looked in all the logical places (where we found the other shoe) and some illogical places (the bathtub, the toy box) but no shoe was found. And, let's just say, in one of my less than steller "insane mom moments" I was less than pleasant. So, I said. FIND a shoe to wear (through gritted teeth). I don't CARE what the shoe is or what this looks like (with a few colorful adjectives thrown in). And, when you get home tonight, you WILL find that shoe cause I am not going to spend another precious few hours of my time looking for shoes AGAIN! And, no, I am not buying you more shoes.
So, my lovely 6 year old went off and found a shoe: A bright pink sandal with Dinsney Princesses and she went to school that way wearing one princess sandal, and one brown loafer, both left feet.
So, yes, in my SMM (stellar mothering moment) of the day, I managed to lose my temper, use profanity, AND send my child to school with two left shoes all in the same monday morning. But, at LEAST, I thought to myself, this is what all those parenting classes and books talk about: "Enforcing Natural Consequences". In other words, the fact that she had to go to school wearing one princess sandal and one brown loafer (both left feet) might possibly reinforce to her the wisdom of putting her shoes in the same place every day. And, as an added bonus, I don't have to be the nagging mother to remind her to find her shoes every night because "Natural Consequences" will teach her better than I could anyway. Problem solved, right?
You can see where this is going, I think.
So, lovely 6 year old comes home, and I say.
"How were your shoes today?"
"Fine"
"Didn't wearing those shoes bother you? They weren't a little uncomfortable?"
"No"
"Are you ready to find your other shoe?"
"No"
Which, I guess, was not a priority for her because she continued to wear her "shoes" for the next week and a half until I (yes I) finally found her shoe in the middle of the backyard where it had been covered by a snowdrift for much of the last two weeks.
Natural Consequences 0
Child with a mind of her own 1
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