Off Track Days

Yesterday I had big plans to get things done around the house. Since I’m not working I’m trying to use this time to purge and re-organize our home. Since the kids are 9 & 12 we are donating as much as we can of their “little kids” items to declutter. It feels great.

Well, none of it happened. My daughter and I took the pup for her morning walk (which is now up to two miles!) and she informed me that all of her assignments for school had been “erased.” Of course, I knew this meant she did not complete her work and now it was Friday and it was all due at 3:30 PM. We had four hours to knock out 15 assignments. I’ve been using these long walks to dig a little deeper with the kids and take the pulse on what’s happening and it works every time. 

I told M that I was sorry all of her assignments were erased but we needed to re-do everything to ensure her work was turned in. She was upset because she thought she was getting a pass. We are big believers in natural consequences, good or bad, in our home and this was the perfect scenario. She made a decision, now she had to deal with the consequences of her decision.  As we were finishing the last leg of our walk I asked her what she thought she should do to avoid this situation in the future. She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, “Mom, I think you should check my work after my 3:30 meeting every day.” Beaming on the inside, I calmly told her I thought that was such a smart plan. I feel like I won this little battle without her even knowing it. 

We returned home, got all the snacks, and headed up to her desk. We wrote down all of her assignments and got to work. She told me how much she loved doing addition equations with big numbers (“I love the millions, Mom!”) on her whiteboard. I folded laundry, tidied up the playroom, and checked her work as she slowly checked off each assignment. 

She got it all done. I, on the other hand, didn’t get done what I wanted to. She needed me and I was able to be there for her in a way I would not have normally been. Although I felt super frustrated I couldn’t get my workout in, I couldn’t finish the chores I wanted to get done or re-organize part of my pantry I feel better today. The sun is out in full force in Seattle, it’s cold, and I just returned home from my long morning walk. I’m going to get on the bike, do some strength work, and cook a lovely dinner tonight.