Temporary? Insanity

Becca and I went for a walk the other day. This is not the sort of thing we normally do because 1) Screaming baby didn’t used to allow it and 2) I am a lazy slug. But I was seized by a sudden whim and off we went, a full half hour before we normally leave the house to pick Emma up from the bus stop. We walked up and down a couple hills (okay, walked down, wheezed up), and as we were walking down one of the few flat bits in this cursedly hilly neighbourhood of ours a car turned on to our block.

Immediately, Becca leapt onto the grass. This is something Neil and I have drilled into both our girls. When a car is coming, you get on the grass FAST. It’s one of the many things we do to keep our kids safe. Or as safe as we can, anyway. And as Becca stomped along in the grass and dandelions that edge our sidewalk-less rural street, she prattled on about how the grass is safe. And then she looked up at me and asked, “Why aren’t you on the grass, Mommy?” A simple question, with the simple answer that the stroller doesn’t fit on the thin strip of grass. That Mommy is bigger and the cars can see her just fine.

But it got me thinking about the things I’m teaching my children by my words, and the things I’m teaching by my example. “Too much ice cream is bad for your tummy. Oh, well, Mommy has a bigger tummy than you (that’s why her serving is three times bigger…yeah).” “You need a good sleep so you can be healthy, and so we can have a happy day tomorrow.” So says the parent who will likely stay up till midnight again and start the day with a post-reading hangover. “Mommy’s going to put on some music so you can dance. Dancing is good exercise!” Mommy says as she sits at the computer, typing this and that.

So as I watched Becca walk along the grass I wondered…how often do I do that? Try to keep them safe even as I’m stupidly putting myself in danger? Maybe I should put a little more effort into being the sort of adult I want my kids to grow up to be, instead of hoping they won’t notice my foolish choices. Oh, I should know better than that. I should know that eventually, kids notice EVERYTHING. I don’t need to be perfect to be a good example though, I just need to try a WEE bit harder. Practice what I preach. Be humble enough to acknowledge when I’m not making the best choices, instead of trying to pretend it’s somehow okay because I’m Mommy.

It really is true that in raising children, we kind of raise ourselves don’t we?