This morning, we were on track for an on-time school day departure. Mama was feeling pretty good about it, but then we had a little trouble finding mittens and gloves.
Allow me to back up to yesterday afternoon... as I was gathering my belongings from the car, I noticed both girls had left their gloves and mittens inside. As the garage only heats to 40 degrees, I swooped up the gloves and mittens, and placed them by the girls' coats. I mentally congratulated myself. So smart. So efficient. What a good mom. Yay, me!
Fast forward to this morning... I tell the girls to get in the car so we can be on time. Loading up, getting ready to go... uh oh, we have a problem. Big Girl ends up with two gloves for the same hand. Apparently, the two gloves I picked up weren't an actual pair. Ugh.
I tell her to look around in the car, which she does, and still doesn't find a match for either glove. I ask her to look on the floor, inside the middle console, behind the seat, down on the sides, and she still can't find it. At this point, I am frustrated and Little One comes into the car (after going back inside the house to retrieve her mittens), saying she can't find her mittens. I feel myself get really annoyed, and then Little One immediately says, "Just Kidding". I was struggling to find the humor.
Big Girl tells me that she leaves her gloves in the car on purpose, so she has them every morning. "But they're cold", I protest. She informs me that it feels good to put on the cold gloves. I do not understand this at all. At this point, we are really pushing for time, and I am getting more anxious about being late for school. I was even feeling offended that my valiant effort was not appreciated! I wonder again, "Why doesn't she think like I do?"
I finally hand her my own gloves, and tell her I will look inside the car again when I get home from drop-off.
I look in the rear view mirror, and notice she is looking glum. I ask her what's the matter, and she tells me she is depressed about losing her glove. Luckily, I hand her a book to read and she perks right up. We make it to school just in time.
After getting home, I thought about the morning, I reflected on the idea that Big Girl is getting older, and making decisions that make sense for her. I don't always understand her choices, but there is a thought process.
I may not think leaving gloves in the car overnight is a sound decision, but they are just gloves. They are not even MY gloves, so I need to let her do what she wants with them. I need to stop assuming that my way is always best.
It is such a small and insignificant thing to worry over, but I can't help thinking that had I simply left her gloves in the car, I would not have been frustrated and in turn, frustrated her. She did what she could to be organized, and I inadvertently thwarted her.
This seems to be a valuable lesson for me, to be more aware that my Big Girl is growing up and that she has a mind of her own. I do want her to make her own decisions, and I need to remember that I can help guide her, but she's entering tween territory. I need to encourage her independent thinking, ask questions instead of instructing, and be on guard that I don't discourage her to be herself - I want her to make choices that are right for her.
This is getting complicated.
