Motherhood is funny sometimes, in a “this is really hard” type way.
This morning on the way to school we realized that Harper forgot her cape (its superhero day or something) and is wearing the wrong shoes for Gym. Of course, I immediately pull over and ask her if we should go back which would make her late and mean I would have to get out of the car in my morning attire to walk her in (does anyone wear real clothes to drop off? Old hoodies and no makeup forever). She told me it was fine but I could see that she was disappointed. My first thought was that I would run home and grab the stuff to run back to the school without telling her.
And then I remembered a story that a mom told me once. Her son forgot his homework and she went home and got it to drop off for him. Later at pick up she got to chatting with the teacher, he was older and had older children. Experience had taught him a few things. He urged her not to do that for him, that it would serve him to learn the consequences of having forgotten his homework. In order to succeed we have to learn these lessons and not be bailed out.
UGH, letting our kids fail a tiny bit hurts.
In the grand scheme of things, none of this is a big deal. The wrong shoes, a forgotten cape, homework turned in late. But for kids they teach them, mold them a little bit into the responsible adults we hope they will be.
So whether you choose to drop off the thing, or let your kid learn the tiny ouch of forgetting something- remember that all of this stuff is hard, you’re doing a great job, and chances are it’s hurting you more than its hurting them.
