Every Saturday I bring you a parenting mistake my husband and I have made. Please have a laugh or cry at our expense — we really are good parents, I swear.
I’m no mathematician, but I seem to recall a mathematical principle called “order of operations,” wherein you must perform certain functions in a certain, accepted order to get a desired result. My error this week involves a violation of this principle, in the realm of parenting.
Wednesday evening, I put Nora in her pajamas immediately after dinner. I patted myself on the back for getting the task accomplished so early. Then I realized there was no way I was going to get out of the house to tend the chickens without her. So, we went to the backyard together, with me suggesting we make it a quick trip and try to stay clean.
Mmmm, yeah. She loves dragging her finger through the dust on the lid of the bin where we keep the chicken feed, so she got covered in dust. Then she “helped” me refill the waterer and got her hands dirty from the hose. Being a resourceful kid, she wiped her hands on her jammies, then my pants.
Eventually, I got her to the front of the house, where, despite doing the potty dance, she insisted on doing her balancing act on the curb of the driveway. I got her inside to the bathroom and she had an accident while pulling her pants down.
The pajama process began again — in its proper order, after feeding the chickens.