you win some you lose some

When I used to know everything Before I was a parent, I was pretty confident in my ability to answer any and all questions that my future children would throw at me. I planned to only use the Go Ask Your Father excuse when necessary.

For instance, the other day I was feeling pretty proud of myself for explaining the meaning of “patience” completely on the fly to my Sam.  He began to act a bit ruffled over how long it was taking me to prepare lunch (apparently 3 minutes in Adult Time feels like 45 minutes in Toddler Time).

I told Sam that he needed to be Patient.  Seeing the confused look on his face, I quickly said, “Sam, do you know what it means to be patient?” He replied, “Yep!” (which in Sam vocabulary means “I don’t have a clue”)….“Well, “patience” means waiting with a happy heart!”

Score!

1 point, Jen. 0 points, Confused Child.

However, later that same day, I gained five pounds in humble pie when Sam decided that he would feed his toy Puppy.  I told him that as soon as his Puppy was through eating his Rice Crispies Dog Food and drinking his water, he needed to take him outside to potty.

As my fate would have it, Sam replied, “Why?” 

Completely at a loss for a sufficient answer to give my child, I spent the next 15 minutes scratching my head over what managed to pop out of my mouth…

“Because if you don’t…he will get a UTI.”

Score is tied.

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