Hit the Re-Parenting Button

On our way from Montreal to Montebello on the weekend, we used the GPS to help us navigate a planned detour to St. Andrew’s East (to visit Hill Head Farm where my father spent his summers and holidays). Dad had one way of going, the GPS another. Since it was my father’s birthday, we followed his directions. But I kept the GPS on, just for fun, and was regaled with “re-calculating” every time we strayed from the GPS road plan. While this was annoying, particularly to Jessie who just wanted to listen to her music and get to the brunch, it kept us on track and heading in the right direction.

I can’t say as much for this summer, which has not gone at all according to plan and seems to have completely lost its direction, at least as far as Jessie is concerned. My thoughts of structuring her day around new skills (chores, volunteer work) and fun (dreams and goals, friends) seems to have devolved completely into a struggle over just getting her off the computer and out into the world.

So for my birthday I’m going to ask Dan to exchange the geographic GPS for a parenting one. A model that has an automatic “re-parenting” function that I can hit when we go off track. Now THAT would be worth the investment.