There is one thing in this world that I am not a fan of and that is “definitions”.  I’ll go down the litany my 80s childhood fit into: organic, unschooled, vegetarian, catholic, breastfed, attachment parenting, stay at home mom (my mom’s article from 20+ years ago), older parents….in each “definition” I think there is a tendency to be wedded to one concept and not stray from it.  This inherently bothers me.  I believe in moderation.  I believe in finding your own way. I believe in creating wide boundaries and enforcing them (I haven’t figured out how to enforce them yet but we’ll figure that out).

~Side tangent, I think the rules might be 1) no means no, 2) yes means yes, and 3) stop means freeze/don’t move/danger-so-therefore-stop.~

So this last week when my mother-in-law got out a sticker book and showed by daughter were things were supposed to go, I stood back and watched Sweetpea thrive under her guidance.  I stood there thinking well shucks, I guess I’ve found a new avenue or definition to get rid of.

As a stubborn, independent person who demanded respect at 5, I never wanted to be told what to do.  Never.  The typical story where my mother tried to teach me and I looked at her like she was nuts.  Clearly what could a mother teach me!

****NEWS FLASH****

My daughter is not me.  She has a lot of my tendencies but she is also my husband and her own person. So watching Sweetpea excited to match the egg sticker with the eggs in the sticker book gave me insight into who she is(?).  Lesson learned (again): don’t set a definition on someone! It might not be right.