Mistakes

While we were driving home this afternoon my daughter called me Dad. Then she said, "Oops. Sorry, I made a mistake. Mistakes happen. No big deal." Of course, I quickly agreed with her and repeated, "Mistakes happen. No big deal." Meanwhile, my head was screaming that every mistake matters and mistakes are never a big deal.

What is wrong with me? I don't like mistakes and I don't like losing. I'm also not so great on seeing the middle ground. If my daughter has a no potty accidents all day then she must be fully trained. If my baby drinks a little bit of water from a sippy cup then she must be ready for 8 oz of milk from one. I realized, on our long trip home today, that in my mind there is no room for my girls to develop a skill gradually. Once they show that they can do something I expect it from them 100% of the time.

I expect the same from myself. If I can stay up writing until 11 pm one night then I should be able to do it every single night.

Maybe it's the warm spring air that is telling me to relax a little bit. Maybe it's the old friend whom I spent a lovely day with today, miss terribly and only get to see twice a year. I don't know and I don't really care.

What I do know is that I am going to try and calm down a little bit and spend a little more time enjoying my girls - mistakes (mostly mine) and all.