Lessons Learned

Let’s review a few lessons learned that we’ve learned around here so far this week, shall we?

First off, Addie learned that we never, ever take anything from a store without paying for it first.

Yes, Mom and Dad, I too have now felt the horror in realizing that your child has “sticky fingers” and the embarrassment of having to march them back into the store to announce our neglect in paying for an item.

Ad has a tendency to seek out stuffed cats and dogs when we are in a store, and if there is one in the store, she will find it. So while we were at the grocery store this evening she had found, and was carrying, this little puppy around. She often will ask if we can take the found object home, but I tell her the toy has to stay in the store. After an “Ok, Mama,” – she will leave it behind, and that usually is the end of it.

Tonight we were loading the groceries into the car and she looks up at me and so innocently says, “This puppy is so cute, isn’t it Mama?” And before it could even register that it was not a puppy that had traveled to the store with us, Emma yelled, “OOOHHH! Addie! You can’t take that puppy home! Mama didn’t pay for it!”

So we did the “march of shame” back into the store and I told Addie that she had to go back up to the manager and explain that she took the puppy without paying for it and that she was sorry.

I didn’t hear exactly what she said to the manager because he was leaning down to hear her and her back was to me, but I did hear her say “Sowry.” And the manager was very nice and said, “Let’s just make sure we don’t ever take anything out of the store until we have paid for it, ok?”

Then the three of us discussed the situation the entire way home, with Emma leading the discussion in typical big sister fashion – “Addie, you have to buy stuff so that the man at the store has money so he can buy food for his wife and kids too, right Mom?”

Sometimes I’m just not sure how that kid got so wicked smart.

So Addie learned not to steal from “the man” and Mommy learned to always double-check her little bear’s paws before we leave a store.

Next up, we learned that our judicial system here in the good ‘ol USA is painfully slow. When I was excused from jury selection at 3pm today we were already nearly through day two, and a jury hadn’t even been selected. For a trial that is only supposed to last a day, two at the most.

I had resigned myself to the fact that I was more than likely going to be on the jury since I was one of the least offensive and vocal potential jurors in the box, so I was really surprised when I was dismissed.

Besides witnessing the turtle-like pace of the courts firsthand, I guess I also learned that I am not a desirable juror. Meh. I can live with that.

Finally, we learn that Mommy has a pretty good “gig” in the greater scheme of things. I will be the first to admit that being a stay-at-home (sometimes work-at-home) mom is probably the hardest, most mundane, and at times, the most downright boring job that I have ever had, or will ever have. But man, to be gone from 8-5, (and I was mostly sitting around, not actually doing any sort of real work!) and then try to come home catch up with the kids, the housework, the cooking…I think I would be insanely grumpy from the moment I got up til the minute I fell into bed at night.

I really like my life. Albeit boring – I like having a routine and set schedule for errands, cleaning, and laundry. I like having the flexibility to work when I can and when I want to. And I really like knowing what the girls are doing every minute of the day and sharing those little moments with them.

Yes, today I learned to be more thankful and appreciative of the little thing called my life.