~ Prerogative ~

I homeschooled my Varmint up through first grade.  We loved our time together.  We were able to get her paper/book schoolwork done in a short amount of time everyday, and we could then spend the rest of the day exploring the world. She thrived with experiential learning.

Like hiking Sugarloaf Mountain to work on her Nature Journal.

Or if the weather was bad, Starbucks, to work on her caffeine habit.  (no, wait, that was me.)

That was so long ago.

Now she’s 10 1/2 years old, and already such a young lady.  She really is the best of me and her dad.  I love who she is, and who she is becoming.  Wise well beyond her years.

Empathetic. Creative.  Fun.  Smart as a whip. Nurturing.  Loving.

And, for some reason, slightly smart-ass.  I don’t know where that came from.

Ah well, I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

She was sitting beside me tonight at Critter’s Basketball practice, and I was yelling at Critter to do this or that (like I have ANY idea how the game should be played, or like Coach Pat and Coach Doug need my help at all.  Not.) until Critter gave me a wicked ‘LEAVE ME ALONE MOM!’ look.  So I whipped out an “I yell because I care!” retort.

Next to me, Varmint, with the help of our friend Robin, came to the conclusion that the perfect response to that would have been, “I roll my eyes because I don’t.”

I quickly informed Varmint that the first time she said that to me she would be going to live with Robin (who liked the idea).

Without missing a beat, Varmint repeated it.

And I was forced to tickle the bejesus out of her in front of God and everybody right there on the basketball court sidelines.

Humiliation:  It’s a mother’s job.  (And prerogative.)