I am a procrastinator...

I have been meaning to write this post for about two weeks now...

I do not think I am too bad. I will get the things that must be done, done; like our bills are paid on time; I am rarely late handing work in; the kid generally gets to school on time (and if we are late, it is her fault and not mine...); meals are usually on the table on time (give or take 30 min...), gifts are bought and wrapped before the party (sometimes just before the party, or on the way to the party, but they get there wrapped), and the house will get cleaned, or made to look like it is clean before the guests come (even if it means stuffing things under the couch).

Unfortunately, for things that I think are not that important, I tend to put it off until it bites me in the ass.

This was one of those things...

My husband and I had been talking about giving a spare house key to our neighbours, or just to hide it somewhere. Okay, the actual conversation happened four years ago (our parents have an extra key, but it can take up to 40 min for them to get to our house, on a good day).

And then it happened. I locked myself out of the house. And to top it off, it snowed. In April. And, all I had on was a sweater. So yes, there I was, freezing in front of my house, thinking I did this to myself; why did I put these things off?

It was not like we were putting off building an extension on the house, which requires money (that we do not have) and planning; this was a stupid extra key, I should be able to pay for it with the change in my pocket (if I had the key on me).

My next thought was, why couldn't it be my husband who learns this lesson, after all, he could have given the spare key to our neighbours without me.

So that very weekend, we got the extra key cut. It took no time at all to get it done and set up. So now I am prepared for the next time I lock myself out of the house. And I learned my lesson about putting things off... or did I...

I really should sort through that bag of clothes and sign my kid up for summer camp, but maybe I will just make myself a cup of tea first, and maybe think of my next post, or plan dinner...

Different solutions to the same problem

Sometimes I am really, really proud of my daughter, other times not so much... but for the most part, I am proud. And sometimes, I am surprised at how much more mature she is about responding to certain situations than I am.

This is one of them...

My daughter was not looking as happy as she usually does when I picked her up from school one day. She told me a little kid in her class tried to hit her. After giving her a hug and establishing that hitting is wrong, the next thing I did was to see whether this was done intentionally (even accidental physical contact is a big no to my daughter).

Okay, I feel bad that the first thought in my head was to doubt her interpretation of the event. I realize little kids are sometimes clumsy, and to be honest, my little one is not always aware of her environment, and so may have merely gotten in the way of a moving child.

Anyway, the incident was not accidental, and the kid did not actually hit her; just tried. I was upset, and told her what the kid (though the word brat and other more colourful adjectives were running through my mind at that point) did was wrong, and if it happens again, just tell him NO, you do not like that, in a big voice, and then go tell a teacher.

A couple of days later, I noticed that the little kid was once again bothering her in the playground. I was about to step in to physically remove the child, when I heard a little big voice yelling NO! I do not like that! And there she was standing up tall, and most importantly standing up for herself, and the kid walked away.

Well all was good for a couple of weeks after that, until I picked her up from school one day and saw her sad little face again...

Apparently, not only did the same kid hit her again, this time he spat in her face. Okay, I admit that my child can be a little annoying and patronizing at times, but no matter what she did, NO ONE should be spat on in the face. I think the kid was lucky that I did not find him at that moment.

After calming down, and talking to her, which involved lots of hugs and kisses, I contacted her teacher to let her know what is going on, and then started to think of a solution to this big problem.

This was my solution: if this kid tries to do this again, you have my permission to deck the kid and maybe kick them in the shins or other places that hurt. Or better yet, I will deal with the kid myself. I know this is wrong, so I did not really say this to her, but I was thinking it.

This was her solution(s): avoid the kid. And, make friends with the kid.

Okay, her solution is better than mine, and she came up with it all by herself!

Epilogue

Things seem to be better between my child and the kid. Though there is still the occasional incident, she seems to be handling it okay, with the help of her other friends. But beware kid, if my daughter's solution does not work, we are going with my plan.