That gold standard of parenting
Making good habits sparkly fun is a challenge and a dance of hope
The organized parent — a gold standard I strove to achieve. As soon I became a parent, that carrot of control dangled always just out of reach. ‘Organized’ became a relative term, a shifting goal I could address after I got a handle on the basics of motherhood. I had to lose my interest in that carrot to come to terms with being a new Mom.
Mostly, I was engulfed by the chaos. By the time my oldest was entering grade school, I knew good organizational habits were the key — to everything, it seemed. And I didn’t have them. I realized that structure at home was something I’d missed as a kid. I needed models.
Light bulb! Teachers were notoriously organized in ways I could never imagine. Her Kindergarten teacher was fabulous and seemed to like me. Maybe I could bribe my way into one of those tiny chairs for a few hours to get some workable ideas, absorb her way of being, and translate it to home.
I remembered my grade-school attempts at imposing order as the oldest of six kids. With an ill, absent father and an overwhelmed, hardworking mother, I wanted to help. I decided to make a chart of our after-school chores. I tackled the paper and colored pencil task with enthusiasm.
