Erasing the Bad Words

I'm trying not to say "no" and "stop" and "don't" all the time.

To my daughter, that is. As in, "Don't dump all your crayons out," and "Stop getting your blueberry muffin all over the floor," and "No, you can't help me peel the boiled eggs."

I realize how lucky I am to have a healthy, happy 3-year-old.  My work with the American Cancer Society introduced me to too many parents who aren't so fortunate, and not to sound cliche, but sweating the small stuff is a waste of precious time. What's a few crumbs on the floor in the grand scheme of things, anyway?

So in the past two weeks, Shannon has played in all-purpose flour, glittered the kitchen with her craft project, glued a bit of carpet together in my office, and assembled a book of torn-out pages from a spiral notebook. Oh yes, and just this morning we listened to christmas music. In return, I've got gluey paw prints across the back porch, glitter in the bottom of my coffee cup, and "giblets" of paper throughout the house (by the way, thanks to Mrs. Russell for giving them a name).

And it's okay. Better than okay --- she's happier, and I'm happier. Sure, I'll have "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" stuck in my head for the rest of the day. And of course, I can't erase every "no" and "stop" and "don't" from my vocabulary. No, you can't lick the spoon when there's raw eggs in the batter. Stop swinging that necklace before you smack yourself (or me) in the face. Don't go wake up your Daddy before his alarm goes off.

But so far I'm doing pretty well. In fact, I think I'll let her peel a boiled egg today.

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