Pride cometh before the parenting fail

Parenting, man. It’s a constant juggling act. I always feel like I am one day away from failing miserably at this thing. You practice the math facts and you fill out the reading logs but then you forget about the take-home “family project” until the day after it was due. You buy the Halloween costumes early and you order your candy to hand out (fair trade!) and you buy the plates for the preschool party and you go to the school party but you forget to send your kids in costume to soccer and they are the only ones not dressed up. Just when you think you’ve gotten it all down, there is always a reminder, just around the corner, that OOPS! You’ve missed something. This weekend I was feeling pretty good about things. I’d finished Karis’s baby book, which means I have four children with completed baby books, which I believe makes me eligible for some kind of Congressional Parenting Medal of Honor. (Still waiting for that to show up.) The kids practiced their instruments every day last week. I learned how to cornrow. We implemented a new chore chart. We did our “highs and lows” every night. The kids were bathed. Their hair was brushed. We only ordered takeout once.  I even made a menu plan for the week and shopped accordingly – something I have, sadly, never even done in my life. I woke up Monday morning feeling like . . . dang. I GOT THIS. And then the kids had dentist appointments. And as it turns out, there is one minor parenting responsibility I may have been slacking on. Just a little ole’ thing known as dental hygiene. My youngest had three cavities. Three! And while brushing teeth is part of our daily routine, I’ve just totally failed to supervise them. This is what happens to the youngest child . . . you just lump them in with the oldest. One kid has a skill down? Great! We’ll pretend EVERYONE’S proficient! So . . . yeah. It was a slightly harsh reminder that we are a few years out from letting Karis brush her own teeth. And I was just a little (A LOT) humbled. Sorry about your teeth, kid. Did I mention I finished your baby book?