Ok, I suppose I could start this with my most recent trauma. It happened a few days ago and fortunately now I can (almost) laugh about it.
My daughter Sofia just turned 6 and in my mind, once you graduate to that second hand of fingers, you should have by now gained some level of maturity, at least in the capacity of knowing right from wrong. Or at least realizing that actions have consequences!
Let me back up a few months... back to October when I purchased (ok, financed) my brand new Scion xd. I had driven my little Echo for over eight years and for those of you who have small children combined with no clear rules on what can be brought into your vehicle, you can imagine the sights and smells that came from that little car! I was so excited to have this new car that had never had crunched up cheerios in the backseat, no milk spilled on the floor, no grimy hands all over the windows, and best of all, had never even been puked in! So you can imagine the excitement of my children once they found out that the only thing they could bring into our new car was WATER... clear water- not even the kind enhanced with fruit juice because you never know how sticky that might be if it were to be accidentally spilled!
With that understanding of how I feel about my car, let's return to a few days ago when I looked out my dining room window and saw Sofia. By my car. With a rock. Yes, a rock! She had carved some letters into the driver's side door- "S A R"... she got picked up so fast and put in her room for a time out. I was so angry I just stayed completely silent- I couldn't even yell at her. She knew how angry I was because even after her time out was over, she cowered under her blanket on her bed for a while longer. When I finally cooled down and was able to talk with her about it, I was in shock that she didn't even seem to think that there might be something wrong with taking a rock- a sharp rock- and carving into Mom's brand new car!! "I thought you'd like it", she said. "I was going to write your name on your door, Mason's name on his door, and my name on my door so that we all remember where to sit!"
Unbelievable.
My daughter Sofia just turned 6 and in my mind, once you graduate to that second hand of fingers, you should have by now gained some level of maturity, at least in the capacity of knowing right from wrong. Or at least realizing that actions have consequences!
Let me back up a few months... back to October when I purchased (ok, financed) my brand new Scion xd. I had driven my little Echo for over eight years and for those of you who have small children combined with no clear rules on what can be brought into your vehicle, you can imagine the sights and smells that came from that little car! I was so excited to have this new car that had never had crunched up cheerios in the backseat, no milk spilled on the floor, no grimy hands all over the windows, and best of all, had never even been puked in! So you can imagine the excitement of my children once they found out that the only thing they could bring into our new car was WATER... clear water- not even the kind enhanced with fruit juice because you never know how sticky that might be if it were to be accidentally spilled!
With that understanding of how I feel about my car, let's return to a few days ago when I looked out my dining room window and saw Sofia. By my car. With a rock. Yes, a rock! She had carved some letters into the driver's side door- "S A R"... she got picked up so fast and put in her room for a time out. I was so angry I just stayed completely silent- I couldn't even yell at her. She knew how angry I was because even after her time out was over, she cowered under her blanket on her bed for a while longer. When I finally cooled down and was able to talk with her about it, I was in shock that she didn't even seem to think that there might be something wrong with taking a rock- a sharp rock- and carving into Mom's brand new car!! "I thought you'd like it", she said. "I was going to write your name on your door, Mason's name on his door, and my name on my door so that we all remember where to sit!"
Unbelievable.
The things that go through a young child's mind is amazing. It seemed so practical at the time. I can understand your frustration. I probably would have reacted the same as you did. Thinking things through after the fact helps me to love my little grand daughter ever so much.
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