Little Miss and Taking Down the Tree

I was recently called "a rock star" as a mother when it came to teaching my kids to do things on their own.  They were in the "zipper club" at school because they could get their snowsuits on by themselves, they've made their own lunches since kindergarten, they can make their own breakfast and now they are learning to use the stove (with supervision).

I admit I am a bit scary to some children, when I ask them how they help their mommies.  One little one hid behind her mommy's legs as if to say, "you can't change me!"

One reason my kids are like this is because I had too much to do with running a business and the home.  I taught them to do the things like getting their snowsuits on, getting dressed, even peeling potatoes, slicing the cheese, husking corn and getting down the crackers for snack.  Things they could do so I could get the bigger things done, while also giving them self confidence at the same time.

But most of it has to do with Mr. Man.  It is ingrained in him to do stuff.  My son always comments about it. "What's dad doing now?" or "When is he going to stop?"  Plus they see him with his cape on, saving the neighbourhood from a snowstorm, or cleaning up some mess I've made.  What.a.keener.

There is a certain craziness to the intensity they feel to impress and please him in any way.  "Let's do something so daddy is really happy when he comes home!" I hear. "What else can we do to make him happy?" or "Daddy likes that, let's do it!" Good grief. A whole bunch of keeners.

So when the first day of school after Christmas became a snow day and I had to cancel my plans, I thought it would be the perfect job for them to take down the Christmas decorations for me.  I know I'd left them up a bit longer than usual, much to Mr.'s dislike, so it was a good idea.

I just milked the whole "Daddy will love it" scheme, and knew it would get done.

Boy, did it ever.

Little Miss immediately took over.  The tree, the lights, the boxes, everything.  She knew how it was to be done, and everyone had to listen.  

Very quickly her brother and I found something else to do.

After a few hours, she had it all packed up, I'd had to help her get the Christmas tree lights down which is not a story I will repeat, and we put it all away in the basement.

My son thought it would be helpful to take the tree right out of the house for his dad.  This is usually Mr.'s job but we thought we could do it with the right plan.

The Plan:

• knock the tree over
• grab it by the stand
• drag it down the hall and out the door
• take the stand off outside
• leave the tree outside.

And so we did it.  Unfortunately, there was water in the stand so it poured out all over the living room and hallway.  The tree was quite dry and most of the needles fell off onto the hallway floor, and down the vents.  The wind was so strong it almost sent the tree flying over the retaining wall along with the kids.  And the kids were still in their pyjamas.

BUT I have to say I was extremely impressed with their determination to get it all done.  It was fun, after all, to make a huge mess and to accomplish a "dad" task.  Not only did they get the tree outside and the stand off, but they dragged it to the backyard (Little Miss shrieking instructions all the way) and heaved it over the fence where our numerous trees have gone (no, not the neighbour's yard). It took three tries for the four-foot-tall children to heave the tree over a three-foot fence, and then they climbed over it to push it away.  All in their jammies and heavy mitts.

I didn't dare tell them I would've quit once I got the stand off, and we didn't dare tell their dad about the mess we made.  We'd cleaned it all up anyway.  But Mr. was so impressed that he praised them AND opened his wallet.

Of course, now each morning I find Little Miss cleaning the kitchen, hoping for praise and a little funding.

So, when the kids are old enough, I'll send them over to your house to do some drywall or other crazy task.  Just tell them their dad will be so proud and it will get done.

But expect to provide a little funding...