so darn cute
yesterday was norah's first day of school (3K), and while i was in the kitchen making her lunch, she was drawing her teacher a picture. our rule is that if she wants to draw in the living room, she must put her paper on the coffee table, not the couch (for reasons obvious to grown-ups, not so obvious to a 3-yr-old).
right before we walked out the door, norah said, "mommy, i have to tell you something." usually, what will follow is a confession. this was no exception. "okay," i said as i crouched down in front of her. "um, i was drawing on the couch, even though i'm not supposed to, and i got just a little bit of pen on it, but it's just a little bit," she told me as she scrunched up her nose and waved her hand dismissedly, as if to say, "not a big deal; don't even bother with it."
not good. willful disobedience. but i had no time; we were going to be late, and i certainly didn't want to drop off a teary-eyed little girl if we dealt with the discipline right then. "okay, norah. we will deal with it after school." ....
later that day, after i picked her up and we were on our way home, i said, "norah, thank you for telling mommy that you drew on the couch. but you know you can't do that, and you were disobedient. so there are no more cartoons today." she immediately erupted in tears and wailing (yes, it's funny that silly cartoons are such a big deal to her). when she quieted for a split second to breathe, i said, "norah, if that makes you sad, you should be obedient, and then mommy won't take away cartoons."
more wailing.
after a minute, she choked out dramatically, "mommy, you breaked my heart."
if i hadn't been driving a car and striving to correct her behavior, i'd have wrapped her up in huge hug for being so darn cute.
right before we walked out the door, norah said, "mommy, i have to tell you something." usually, what will follow is a confession. this was no exception. "okay," i said as i crouched down in front of her. "um, i was drawing on the couch, even though i'm not supposed to, and i got just a little bit of pen on it, but it's just a little bit," she told me as she scrunched up her nose and waved her hand dismissedly, as if to say, "not a big deal; don't even bother with it."
not good. willful disobedience. but i had no time; we were going to be late, and i certainly didn't want to drop off a teary-eyed little girl if we dealt with the discipline right then. "okay, norah. we will deal with it after school." ....
later that day, after i picked her up and we were on our way home, i said, "norah, thank you for telling mommy that you drew on the couch. but you know you can't do that, and you were disobedient. so there are no more cartoons today." she immediately erupted in tears and wailing (yes, it's funny that silly cartoons are such a big deal to her). when she quieted for a split second to breathe, i said, "norah, if that makes you sad, you should be obedient, and then mommy won't take away cartoons."
more wailing.
after a minute, she choked out dramatically, "mommy, you breaked my heart."
if i hadn't been driving a car and striving to correct her behavior, i'd have wrapped her up in huge hug for being so darn cute.