Sometimes, I Get It Right posted 6/3/2009 10:59:04 PM | 1 kudo what's this?     report abuse tagged: children, kids, families, trouble, paint

MonkeyWoman29

.....And sometimes, I don't.

Very recently my four year old daughter, Becca, has made two fast friends (ages six and eight) that live in our apartment complex. They are only here on weekends and summer vacation to visit their dad and his girlfriend and I must say they have had a rip roaring good time playing with each other.

Only it seems that these two precious snowflakes have soiled the reputation of my little snow white. I let them run in the field and play and galavant as they pleased, with the understanding that whilst they were out of my sight (around the corner of my building) that the girls' father, who lives in the building down the hill across the field, would be watching them.

Only he wasn't. And the eight year old found a can of spray paint in my gardening box. Hot Pink spray paint. Did you hear me? I said HOT PINK.

They gave the apartment complex a nice girly makeover. They painted the fence, the ground, the steps, the handrailing, the drains, the man hole covers, and the side of my building. Yes, the side of the building. This all ocurred in the span of fifteen minutes while I was putting the baby to sleep.

A neighbor called the police and I had to explain to him that it was indeed my four year old daughter and her not much older friends. I was horrified to have to deal with this situation with the police and even more horrified to contact the apartment manager and owner and explain the situation. I gave my daughter a good stern talking to and her father came to get her for the night. I was at my wits end trying to figure out how to clean up the mess.

Luckily the apartment manager and the owner both have kids and they simply laughed and told me not to worry about the paint, they would get someone out with a pressure washer in a few days. Of course I know that my security deposit went ka-put.

I grounded my daughter accordingly and now she does not go outside without me at all. I have learned that I can't rely on other people to watch my children... or theirs either, apparently.

She knew better than this; she knew better than to touch my paint or to decorate the complex. The older girl I am sure egged it on but that was no excuse.

Children will be children, though, and this is so minimal, really. It's so minimal when I think about her parent teacher conference at preschool and her teacher telling me that Becca takes the time and effort to play with a mentally and physically handicapped boy when no one else will. That she helps him with his work in centers and takes up for him when someone speaks down to him or makes fun of him. It's so minimal when I think about her asking to take Candy Canes to give out for Christmas at the local nursing home and how she thought of it all by herself because she said some of those people may not have anyone to visit them for Christmas.

Its so minimal when she tells me she is going to tell her brother all about their grandmother because he never got to meet her.

And it's so minimal when she wraps her arms around my neck and says she loves me.

On second thought.... I get it pretty right most of the time.

Regards,
Kris

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