Popularity...........

I bought Olivia a really puffy coat last winter. She told me she had to go through the door to her classroom sideways. I told her it that was good for her, it builds character. What I didn't tell her was that it was pretty much my favorite thing about that awkward coat.
Olivia just happens to be one of those kids that was born full of life, she's exciting, and beautiful and kind and well....fun. Truth be told the girl can pretty much draw a crowd of loyal followers in 10 min flat. She's got a brilliant imagination and endless ideas. She's a born leader. She's stinkin' bossy, but a leader nonetheless.

As her mother you can see my dilemma.
Left to herself the girl could become popular.
Which scares the heck out of me.
Which is why she isn't left to herself.
Which is why I'm her mother.
To instill a little bit of awkwardness in her.
To slap a "puffy coat" on her every year.
Awkwardness is good for kids.
It's good for adults.
It keeps us humble.
It keeps us true to who we are.
It keeps us feeling different,
keeps us from conforming to the world.

Which is a soapbox I hopefully won't have to climb on for awhile. Olivia is blissfully unaware of the world. The puffy coat this year served an entirely different purpose. To teach her that mom's in charge. Olivia is pretty much convinced she rules the world. It is my daily battle to convince her otherwise. This might imply that battle is me against her......I assure you it's more complicated than that. Olivia has followers. Loyal followers. Popularity is dangerous at any age. In our home Olivia is by far the most popular. I'm pretty sure I'm dead last. Which makes consequences interesting.

Monday Olivia was grounded. Being the good mother I am I made sure to pack up the kids for an over the top fun day at the pool, y'know so she would really feel the sting. We got to the pool and Olivia parked herself on a chair in the shade while we all jumped in. 5 min later I was alone in the pool. For the next hour I jumped around by myself trying to look like I couldn't possibly have more fun. "Come on Luke, let's dive off the diving board" I said. "No" he replied "I'm staying with Olivia, if she can't swim than neither can I."
So there they sat in a row Sophie Kate, Luke and even Grace.
With Olivia smack dab in the middle, playing the martyr like an old pro.
Olivia 1- Mom 0

Not to be beaten again, when it came time to clean their rooms yesterday I was quick to veto the "who wants to play a fun game called help Olivia clean up her room" idea that she threw out. "it's your mess, you clean it up, got it?"
She assured me she did.
half an hour later Luke asks me for some change.
When I questioned him why he said "Olivia is having a garage sale, you can buy anything on her floor."
Apparently it was less work to label everything with price tags than to pick them up.
Within minutes, her room was clean and Luke and Sophie sat with a pile of junk on each of their laps completely pleased.
Olivia 2-Mom 0

Olivia smiled.
And as they walked off she kissed the tops of their heads.
I guess it's not so lonely at the top.