Fancy Feathers, an Empty Storefront, and a Moment of Parental Clarity!

Hair feathers are all the rage right now.  My daughter who is five had been begging me for one for the last couple of weeks, especially since her little girlfriends have started to get them.  Thank goodness that started AFTER school picture day.   Anyway,  last Friday when she had the day off of school for Teacher Records Day, I decided to let her get one.   She was soooooooooo excited!  It's all she talked about for two days.  "Mom, mom, when am I going to get my feather, again?", she'd say...like every 10 minutes.

I did my due diligence as a parent and checked the website of a local salon to make sure they had them, how much they cost, how long they stayed in, and if we needed an appointment.  Sure enough, they had them, they were ten dollars, they stayed in "a long time" and they took walk-ins.   Yeah!

So off we drove to the salon and when we pulled up we were faced with an empty storefront.  Yep, out of business.  No sign, no furniture inside....just a completely empty building.  I thought....hmmm...sure would be nice if  they would update their website.  Nonetheless, I said to my daughter, "I'm sorry honey...the store is closed...I mean PERMANENTLY closed."

At that moment, I was instantly I'm bombarded with "BAAAWAAAAHHHHHHH!  NOW I"M NEVER EVER GOING TO GET A FEATHER!"

I knew how devastated she was.  I felt so badly, but at the same time it wasn't my fault...I did my research...or so I thought.  So I started to console her and say, "It's okay, I'll stop by a couple of the other salons along the main road in town and see if anyone else does them and will take a walk-in."  And off I drove.

And then it hit me...A MOMENT OF PARENTAL CLARITY!  I am NOT going to run all over town looking for another place when that was not in the agenda for the day.  I had slated about 30 minutes for the feather endeavor...not God knows how long and a 1/2 a tank of gas.  So I said to my daughter very directly:  "I'm sorry, G.  I've decided that this is an important lesson is delaying your gratification (yes, I use these big terms with her).  It's important for you to learn that life doesn't always go as we plan, and this is one of those instances.  We didn't plan for the salon to be out of business, but it is and now we have to deal with it.  But we don't have to do it right this second.  I will go home and do some more online research (and make a phone call to make sure the place is actually open), and you can get your feather tomorrow." 

She cried for a few minutes, but recovered, knowing full well I would hold true to my word. 

She got her feather on Saturday...the very next day...just like I promised...from the same salon chain...only five miles further down the road!

It's hard as a parent to see our children be upset, and it's worse to suffer through their crying, however long it lasts.  But this was an important lesson for her.  Thank you, little white angel on my shoulder, for whispering in my ear that day!

Backpacking through the Years!

I love it when my personal and professional life crossover and I get some great information that are applicable to both.  Last weekend I was at a scrapbooking crop and I met a Close to My Heart sales consultant.  She taught an awesome project using 12 x12 file folders to keep track of your children's memorable school work (I'll show that in another post someday).  We started talking about preserving our children's work and she told me she had a closet full of their old backpacks that have all the "big projects" in them that don't fit into the file folder.

What a wonderful idea...save your child's backpack from each year and fill it with their best work.  Such nostalgic treasures they will have when they get older.

My daughter's backpack from preschool and jr. kindergarten is in the pile of donations to go to the church garage sale.  Thank goodness the donations aren't due until mid-October because that backpack is being picked from the pile.

Can't wait to start filling it full of memories...and continue to backpack through the next 13 years!

Airing My Dirty Laundry!

Laundry is probably one of my least favorite things to do...but I think my husband likes it less than I do.  I am blessed that he does his own, but I am the one that does mine, our daughter's, and all of the community laundry such as sheets, towels, and rugs.  Because of my health issues, this is an exhausting chore for me, so often times it will pile (and when I say pile I literally mean PILE) up in the laundry room in front of the dryer because I just don't feel like folding it.  Sometimes it sits for two weeks and each day my daughter (age 5) and I go digging through the pile for what to wear.  I am NOT proud of this...it is definitely one of my limitations. 

This past Sunday I took 2 hours to fold the mountain of laundry that had accumulated.  I placed it neatly into laundry baskets and my husband carried them to their appropriate destinations.  Of course, I didn't have the energy to put it away after spending 2 hours folding it.  So a basket of laundry sits on my daughter's floor in her room waiting to be put away.

Last night she was getting ready for bed and looking for some clean pajamas.  Of course she couldn't just open the drawer and get any old pair, she had to have this certain pair that was at the bottom of the neatly folded basket.  So out fly the neatly folded clothes...all over the floor.  I didn't yell at her, but I proceeded to comment on the disaster she created and told her she would clean it up tomorrow.  She could certainly sense my disdain, I'm sure. 

After I tucked her into bed, I walked downstairs into our bedroom...to the same sight...a pile of laundry all over the floor surrounding the laundry basket.  I remembered then that I was frantically looking for something to wear to church on Sunday...and it was at the bottom of my basket. 

Well, now I realize where she learned this nasty habit.  Kids are our mirrors, and so impressionable.  Our actions make their mark on them without us even realizing it.  As the old saying goes...The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

What are your limitations?