A few months ago my girls and I were running our usual routine. The usual, usually means we got up, went to the gym, cleaned, and set off on any adventures or errands that I felt like going on during the day.
Addie, being the cute little preschooler that she was started crying. She was frustrated and tired of following my rules all day. I tried to take a step back and look at it from her tiny person, 5 year old point of view and I realized it would be pretty annoying having someone tell you what to do all. Day. Long.
"Let's go to the gym. Put on your shoes. Eat another bite of broccoli. Flush the toilet." Etc. Etc. Yeah I'm already annoyed for her just thinking about it.
So as I was talking to her I explained that I understood her frustration and that I had the perfect solution. The next day there would be no rules. We would do whatever she wanted all day.
I didn't have any ulterior motives. I wasn't hoping everything would go all wrong so at the end of the day she'd have a greater appreciation for my rules. I was simply hoping she'd feel understood, and respected enough that I would allow her to take over for the day. And also I love changing things up so I just thought it sounded like it would be tons of fun for all of us.
So here is how the morning went.
It started out with chocolate for breakfast, no trip to the gym, and she wore a cozy mismatched outfit.
Next up was her most creative idea of the day.
We took the 3 dozen eggs I just bought at Costco, lined the bathtub with garbage bags, threw some swimsuits on and they smashed, stomped, and threw those eggs to their hearts content.
They made a huge mess but it it was so worth it. They had so much fun.
Addie kept yelling "Best day ever!!!".
Later that day she really let the power go to her head got into the spirit of the day, talking in the 3rd person and everything. haha. When I started doing laundry I believe she said something like "No, no, no. It's Addie's rules and Addie says no laundry!" Then she proceeded to throw it everywhere and jump on my bed. My instinct was to say no, but I had to just laugh about how much of a thrill she was getting out of it. Who am I to care about tossed laundry in a moment of pure joy!?
Especially on "Addie's day"!?
While Sienna was napping she thought it would be fun to have a little bake off. So of course, that's just what we did. She got out every ingredient you could possibly use to bake cupcakes. She got flour, sugar, and various spices all over the floor and
everywhere else,
and made up her own little creation.
For lunch she decided we'd go get candy at Walmart. She grabbed a Reese's then thought the candy at Smiths sounded delicious too, so we went there, and after that it was time for some frozen yogurt for dessert. (because what would a candy lunch be without dessert!?) The rest of the day included a trip to Del taco, a playdate with her friend, watching Curious George, jumping on her bed, dress ups, and anything else her sweet little heart desired.
The day was a complete success. She loved the freedom and had so much fun doing all the things she wouldn't normally get to do. In fact her biggest thrills came from doing all the little things I usually remind her to do like flush the toilet. And changing into her pajamas to go play outside was her biggest thrill.
There were so many reasons that it was good for me too. The house was a freaking disaster at the end of the day but, ya know what, who cares!? I had no idea how often I would normally tell her no. Throughout the day she kept reminding me of just how creative she can be. So often she'll come up with the most random thing to do but I'll say no because I don't want to clean up a giant mess. I resolved to let her creativity shine a little more often and to be more flexible.
After all she'll only be a kid once and she deserved to have the BEST DAY EVER!
