Breathe in, 1-2-3, Breathe Out

I am zen. Ohhhhhm.

I breathe in, close my eyes, hold it, and breathe out throughout the day. Chuckles is just so TWO. His whims mean everything to him. And he wants things to go his way. I'm cool with that, most of the time. If he wants to wear pajamas all day or stand in downward dog saying "somersault" while naked, I generally permit that. It's health and safety where I draw my lines, or so I thought.

Nothing about standing there with the refrigerator door open has anything to do with health or safety, but I could not, would not, let him stand there staring into the 'fridge. It's not like he wanted anything to eat or drink. He just learned how to open the door and wanted to practice and it drove me absolutely nuts.

So, apparently, my points are: health, safety, getting out of the house and being places on time, and not wasting electricity. There you have it. Also, hat tip to hedra for her "safe, respectful, and kind" criteria. If you cannot decide whether something should be a rule or whether it is a fair rule, see if the behavior is safe, respectful, and kind. If it's not, they shouldn't do it. And if it's OK, then have at it.

So, wearing pajamas to the supermarket, the park, or the library is fine. It is not ok to wear pajamas to a funeral or a wedding (since it's not respectful). Standing there with the 'fridge door is not OK because it is not respectful of daddy who has to work hard to pay for our electricity. Taking all the clothes out of your dresser is OK if you are going to put them back yourself, otherwise it's not OK because someone else will have to clean up behind you, and so forth. Walking in the street is not OK because it's not safe. Hitting is not ok, because it is not safe nor respectful nor kind. I love this criteria because it means that you can fold paper and play trucks and stand naked in the back window and run around without pants on and just be a kid provided you don't cause trouble for anyone else.