Boys Are Lazy, Girls Are Crazy

For a long time, I thought I missed the left turn at Albuquerque on the road to successful parenthood. The journey started off great - how could it not, with only one child to demand attention. I was in school during the day and Jay worked nights, so Kit got a lot of one-on-one time. When I was free during the day, I would take Kit to the park that was right next to our apartment. At the end of the park, there was a little fire station. We would sit on a huge tree stump right next to the fire station and Kit would tell me stories about whatever characters I gave him (tell me a story about a boy, a butterfly and a giant). He was very good at telling stories. Kit was very good at a lot of things. He even used to be pretty good at cleaning his room and other small chores. Somewhere, though, I missed the left turn. Kit went from knowing it all to know-it-all, from carefree to care-less, from 'A' to 'F'. Kit is not succeeding at school and has no desire to change course. Lazy Boy!

Kyle, Kinneret and Cordelia seem to be following in Kit's footsteps. They've always been in daycare, and so missed the one-on-one time that Kit enjoyed. As they got older, I secretly hoped the more strict routine at daycare would carry over to home life, thereby making up for my shortcomings. Alas, it is somehow impossible to pick up toys and hang up clothes at home until I cannot look at the mess any longer. Then Mrs. Hulk appears and everyone is miserable.

I have hope, though. Last week, Kinneret misplaced her "Wednesday" folder. (It is still called a Wednesday folder even though it actually comes home every day). She had no homework or discipline notes or anything of importance in it, but she was obsessed with finding it. I finally told her we would look for it later because we were going to be late. She agreed only after I assured her that she WOULDN'T BE KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL because she lost it. Crazy Girl!