O is for Opposable Thumbs...

Darling Daughter and her bestie Dew have been struggling recently with growing up and being independent and making wise choices. Dew's mom and I have been tag teaming our girls to try to make it easier for them to understand that it takes a village to raise them and not totally warp them beyond repair. In my efforts, I shared this parable with Dew and told her I was totally going to include it in my blog.

ME: Dew, you have your puppy, Chester. He's your baby. You have to make sure he eats, drinks, and is well loved. You have to let him out to potty and give him baths.

DEW: Uh-uh

ME: In return, Chester loves on you, snuggles with you and gives you big wet kisses. He loves you because you take care of him.

DEW: Yeah-huh.

ME: Now imagine that when you get home today, Chester has grown opposable thumbs and a working brain. He has fed himself, bathed himself, let himself out to do his business.

DEW side glances at my crazy-ness and tries not to smile.

ME: To add insult to injury, Chester tells you he doesn't need you any more and that he would prefer sleeping in his own bed. Every time you call Chester to come snuggle and be loved on, he ignores you or flat out says, "Nah, Dew, I don't really like being hugged and petted. I have thumbs now. I can take care of it if I need to."

DEW: Eew!

ME: Now, why did you go there? I was keeping this very PG. You know that is NOT where I was going.

DEW: Sorry...(she still giggles)

ME: Carrying on...any who...how would it make you feel if Chester didn't need you anymore? How would you react if during all of this, he also started playing in the street and leaving the house at night to roam the neighborhood with all the other dogs who recently grew opposable thumbs? They trash their owners and say, "She just doesn't understand!"

DEW: I get what you're saying, Ms. J-Me.

ME: Do you? Cuz I think I got lost in the idea of dogs with thumbs. Anyway, your mom and I are doing the best we can. We get that y'all are ready to be grown and independent of us. Maybe we are not ready. Also, when we see y'all make unwise choices, you just prove that you are not totally ready, and that scares the bajeezzers out of us. I guess I am saying, give your mom a break and a hug.

DEW: Okay.

Did the parable of the dogs with opposable thumbs fix our problems...no. Will she remember it someday...yes. Now we just pray we get them to grown without too much permanent damage along the way.