Parents Do You Ever Wonder…

…if you children actually pay attention to a word that you are saying? I know over the years raising my three kids i have to say that I dont think they got half the stuff that I said to them, and if they did then the other stuff I said to them right after pushed the first bits of information out of their minds. But today I realized just how much my kids are paying attention when I am trying to impart upon them the things that they will need to know as they get older.

If you are wondering what I am talking about it is simple. I left my darling ten year old in charge of making dinner today. I mean I know she knows how to follow instructions for recipes as she has made many a batch of cookies and other things with me. Add in that all I wanted her to make was a few italian sausages and a tray of curly fries and I figured she would be good to go. I wrote out the instructions, told her to start around 510pm and left it up to my sitter to supervise.

I got a call from her around 530, “Mom, I cooked it like you said and the sausages are still pink on the bottom. Should I turn them over and put them back in the oven for a bit longer?”

Please note folks, she is ten. This is also her first solo run, without me standing there beside her (yes sitter was there to make sure she didnt get hurt) but otherwise she was on her own and she knew that the sausages being pink was not right and she had to do something to fix it. Most kids I know would have left it, first time out I mean, she didnt.

Long story short, the kid did a bang up job of dinner, she was putting it all on plates for us when we walked in the front door. Our sitter said she was all but bursting from pride. She had made dinner for her family.

Needless to say we paid our compliments to the Chef of the evening and left not a crumb behind.

Her? She went to bed still beaming, and is probably wondering when she will get to cook the next time, if I know her.

And me? Well I know my kids are paying attention. And I also know that I am dammed proud of my big girl.

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