Thursday, January 19, 2012

I'm Potentially the Worst Mother in the World

*Potentially* That's important. It's not like there's been a vote or anything. And I don't think you actually win a prize if you get officially voted the worst mother in the world. It's more of an honorary title...like an honorary doctorate...or a rap sheet...whatever.

So here are the circumstances of my impending descent into worst motherhood-dom. *Potentially* Ella is reading "Old Yeller." Did you just suck in a deep breathe and say something like "ooooohhhh noooooo." Yeah, I know. It might be bad.

See, we're studying the post-civil war era in American History and one of the books in her curriculum is "Old Yeller." Also known as the evil-book-where-the-dog-gets-shot. I went back and forth for days about whether or not to let her read the book. Ella loves dogs. And when I say loves, I mean LOVES. She can name a ridiculous number of dog breeds and correctly identify them. She stages dog shows with her stuffed animals. It's adorable. And it's all about to come crashing down on her. Worst. Mother. Ever. *Potentially*

I finally decided to let her read the book because it's a classic, it has a great portrayal of American life in that time and its a good challenging read for her. Of course when I told Major Dad what she was reading he gave me a look that was part horror and part "I'm going to laugh at you when she flips out." And to make matters worse, the stupid cover of the stupid book has a picture of a big ol' fluffy yellow dog smiling a big doggy smile with no idea that he's about to die.

So now here I am...counting down the days until she hits chapter 15. And there's Ella, blissfully devouring what she calls "the best book ever!"

Worst mother in the world. *Potentially*

5 comments:

  1. The book has many, many life lessons. Lessons you cannot shield your child from, but instead, must embrace.

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  2. It is a wonderful story. You know your daughter best. Every child is different and has unique personalities/maturity levels, so if you think she will embrace the story, you aren't bad at all! :-)

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    1. Thank you, Lisa! I appreciate your encouragement so much!!

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  3. Potentially worst mother or wise mother offering discussion opportunities within the safety of her home/family/life. Better to begin to learn to cope with loss with small steps than plunging in head first. Wonderful opportunity to discuss taking our losses to the Lord and offering scriptures and prayer about how to deal with disappointments and loss.

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    1. Thank you, Michelle!! You are awesome & wise and wonderful!

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