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Toddlerhood is a trip, huh? From zero to sixty in 2 seconds flat. For no apparent reason. But there is one. Always. It’s just my job to figure out what the reason is and handle it. Yesterday the reasons mostly had to do with transitions. Transitions between activities at “pre-school”. Transitions between activities at home. In short, stopping what she wants to do in order to do what she needs to do. Like diaper changing. Or washing for meals. Or getting in the car so we can go to the grocery store. I try to figure in a few extra minutes for her to get used to the idea but sometimes it takes a little longer than expected.

She has started to balk at getting into the car seat so sometimes we’ll just sit with her on my lap facing me in the car next to her car seat. A little shnuggle here, a little joke there and, most times, in a few minutes she’s ready to get in the car seat. BOY I’m glad we don’t have much of a schedule around here. I cannot imagine actually having to get up, get both of us ready for me to go to work, and getting her to day care every day. A kazillion mommies do it every day. I’m just glad I’m not one of ‘em. Mad props to you ladies….

I am acutely aware these days that she is an only child and is likely to remain that way. I know several mommies with kids her age that are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or thinking about trying to get pregnant. Again, I am not one of them. The fact that she is most likely going to remain an only child means that there is not that propping her up on her own two little feet because I have another teeny tiny one to take care of. Not that I don’t encourage her independence but, let’s just say that I have been a bit lax in the “teaching her how to clean up” category as well as in the “suck-it-up-because-we’ve-got-to-go” category. I’m a bit indulgent. I like to think I’m not over-indulgent simply because I’m aware of the fact that I’m a bit indulgent. But that remains to be seen. I don’t want her to be a spoiled only child. With two or more, I can imagine that you would want to teach your child the aforementioned skills as soon as humanly possible so that you do not lose your mind amid the dishes, laundry, toys and general messiness of family life. But with one, I think it’s easier to assume you can do all of the picking up and dealing with of messes by yourself. The melt-downs that I have seen the past two weeks at pre-school during “clean up time”, however, have forced me to consider the possibility that I should be teaching The Tot how to put her things away. Yes, this is a “Duh Mommy” moment, in case you were wondering.

So today I am going to try to remember to show Tater Tot how to help me put her things away. Wish me luck! I’ll need as much luck to remember to do it as to get her to do it, I think…