On a perfect Fall afternoon I received the following text message from my sister in-law, Shonna.
"Well it's a good thing we are getting rid of this carpet, just busted Tay doing this to it"...(see picture below). Taylor's Granny (my mom) response was quite clever - " Oh Oh Picasso at work in the wrong place."
My reaction was prolly less filled with anger than it was for my sister in-law and brother upon seeing that their daughter decided to update their carpet by coloring it blue - maybe after hearing them talk about the change of wanting it either replaced or removed to showcase the hardwood floors she took action into her own hands. My brother's response to the text message was classic any parent's reply would be...she better got a spanking for that or a time out. Upon talking to my mom on the phone about our little Taylor and her most recently action that led to naughty Tay and tears I had stated I have been there plenty of times starting out what I think is a good idea even great idea suddenly becomes a terrible idea. Its strange how easy and clear an idea comes to you and you roll with it how fast it can head south...in a mater of well Shonna walking into the room and discovering what Taylor has been up too - that fast. The truth is I relate to my 2 year old niece.
So Tay - I vow you this - when you find yourself in hot water - deep trouble I will be the one in a tender way to show you kindness support and understanding no matter what you did - I will never make excuses for you nor will I try to talk your parents out of what they decided as punishment for you behavior. You will always in my book be held accountable for your actions but I also know what its like to dip my toes in a bit of heat - do somethings I know better not to do as well as those times where I just lived in the moment and didn't see the trouble it was leading me too. The truth is Taylor - sometimes we must learn by failing - we gotta mess up alittle before we can clean up. And if you are anything like your Auntie you have to sometimes fail big time and mess up in an epic way in order to learn a few life lessons. But no matter how big of trouble you get in I will always remind you that you are loved. That you are worthy. That you are more than your downfalls and shortcomings. That even thou your parents are heated they will cool and nothing you could ever do would make their love for you go away. I know in life you will face a few times like you had today - that I am sure will see tears and heartbreak upon realizing you did something you shouldn't have done. But know near or far your Auntie will always be there to remind you of what you are capable of and how loved you are and will even offer a few bits of advice on lessons to be learned and actions that you can make moving forward to not repeat in the future. One thing for certain I am quite certain I will be able to say...Tay - did I ever tell you about the time that your auntie did this...and boy oh boy were your granny and gramps not pleased with me...but you know what I learned this...and I realized that even thru all that your granny and gramps still loved me just as I know your mommy and daddy love you. The thing about messes...they can always be picked up and cleaned up. Life is about learning simple as that - we can't be good all the time can we... what fun would that be...besides...no one likes a goodie two shoes that lives life in a perfect bubble.
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