Parenting Fails and Therapy Funds

We have an Education Savings Fund for the girls. In reality, I think they may have to use it for therapy. Either way, money well saved.

I have many parenting fails. Real actual fails that I have to laugh at…. there is no other option but to laugh. It’s a good thing little people are so resilient. 

1.     I forgot Quinn in the mini-van when she was 5 weeks old. I was in a rush to shove some McDonald’s down Olivia and Peyton’s gullet en route to a party. Yes, I was feeding them McDonalds at age 2. That’s like a two for one fail. I got to the door of the ‘restaurant’ and had a funny feeling I was forgetting something. Turns out it was the latest human I had built. Oops.

Fail.

2.     At age of 5 to 6 Peyton became really bad at listening and not doing what she was told. I began yelling and reprimanding her while giving her time-outs for outright disobeying mommy. Defiant little child. It was almost as if she couldn’t actually hear me. I noticed one day she was sitting very close to the TV with her ear cupped straining to listen. She was in for surgery within one month to have ear tubes inserted. Turns out she really couldn’t hear me after all.

Fail.

3.     Olivia cut her middle finger at around the age of 3. She came up to me, crying and showing me the cut for mommy to make it all better. Before I mended and kissed the boo-boo, I told her to wait while I found the camera. It was an absolute must for me to have a picture of her flipping me the bird. Kodak moment.

Fail.

4.     When Olivia was in grade one at French Immersion school, I had her read me the book all about Seals over and over and over again. She couldn’t figure out why I was laughing at her… like snorting ugly cry laughing. Please Google translate ‘seal’ into French if you don’t get this. I was just encouraging her love of reading.

Fail.

Youngest kids get the shaft. Oldest siblings get the eager ‘I’m going to document every moment and do everything right’ parents. Seriously, if you flip through the pages of my oldest girls albums fast enough, it’s like you are watching a movie in real time.

Let’s just say that Quinn’s baby book may not be exactly “accurate” on the whole first tooth and first hair cut dates. More like a memory estimate. Meh…minor details.

But the PARENTING FAIL OF THE YEAR AWARD goes to my sister.

My youngest niece Emily turned three the last week. She is the youngest of 6 granddaughters. May I add Miss Emily was a wee bit of a surprise for my sister and brother in law at the age of 37. My sister is a great mom and I admire her everyday. I also laugh daily at her at the age of 40 dealing with a spicy three year old.

Needless to say there was NO ‘first child’ birthday party complete with pony rides and a Cirque de Soleil show. Instead a simple delayed family dinner to celebrate her precious birth.

After dinner my sister announced, “Can we hurry up and get on with serving the cake? I need to get to work.” (To be fair, she is a nurse and it was over-time…that’s good money people)

As we sang to my dear sweet niece, I suggested my sister may want a picture as a keepsake? Shocker, she didn’t have a camera. I decided that she was just there for the free food from mom’s house.

Only to be outdone by the small wisp of Emily’s hair that touched the candle and went up in flames…that my sister didn’t notice.

That’s making memories right there I tell ya.

Rushed birthday cake, no camera and the smell of burnt hair. What more could a little girl ask for?

It’s ok, each one of them are loved so fiercely that I know this will override all of our fails. I hope. After all, I could dedicate an entire post to my own mothers less than stellar parenting moments, and I turned out ok. Sorta.

As I ponder some of my parenting bombs, perhaps I do need to stop transferring money from their ‘College/Therapy’ fund to 'Mommies Wine' fund. 

After all, it’s a RESP not a RWSP.

What’s your parenting fail? Don’t be shy…I know you have one or one hundred.

Xo

J

Uncle Dylan saved the day with his camera phone. Memory acheived!

Mommy...I hurt my finger.