A Prank A Day: Mission Accomplished

Let me begin this post by reminding my readers that my daughter is 8 years old and in the 3^rd grade. With that said, I never dreamed it would be my daughter that pulls the pranks in this house. Growing up living with my grandparents, it was my Uncle Michael who pulled the pranks on his sister, my Aunt Angie. He would do the usual things like gluing her makeup down to her vanity. Well, not in this house. It’s our daughter who pulls the pranks on her brothers. She sneaks a little prank then lies and laughs. The boys fuss and cry. At that point, I am pretty sure that Abbi is thinking, “mission accomplished.” Most days, I am certain that it’s her main objective for the day to see how often she can aggravate, irritate and annoy her brothers. She is pretty masterful at reaching her goal. Her one fault, she hasn’t mastered the art of lying. Oh, she tries her hardest. The problem is she doesn’t have someone else to blame. Take this morning, for example. I guess she got tired of putting soap on the boys’ tooth brushes. After 9 days of the same prank, it was probably getting old and boring. So, she devised a new scheme of filling their hair goop container with water. Of course, Tim went to the kids’ bathroom to fix the boys hair before school and found the prank. Of course, Abbi proceeded with several “I didn’t do it” “Eli did it” “Evan did it” pleas. Her dad outsmarted her, “Abbi, why would one of the boys ruin their own hair stuff?” Without thinking her little prank through, she blurted out, “Dad it was empty.” Hmm, so a confession.  Her logic to the confession was that if the container were empty, the prank didn’t matter.  She totally missed the fact that she was caught in a lie. Actually the container wasn’t empty and she had to leave for school with her dad’s reminder running through her mind that the boys have permission to get her back. Normally, we stick to the “don’t repay evil with evil” rule. However, we’ve had exactly 10 days of school and 10 days of pranks. I think it’s time she learned her lesson.

And so the Adventure Began

I knew that raising my daughter wouldn't be easy. I became pregnant with her when my first child was only 4 months old. My husband and I were too shocked to feel anything when we found out I was already expecting again (I know you're wondering....yes, I've heard of birth control and it just didn't work for me!). The thought of having a newborn and 13 month old terrified me. I really knew it wouldn't be easy when she spent her first six months constantly crying, day and night. I knew it would be exhausting when she decided to make snow angels out of Ovaltine on the kitchen floor...at just 2 years old. And I knew it would be an absolute joy the first time she sat in the passenger seat with me, looked up at me with her big smile, slid on her hot pink sunglasses and turned up the music. When did I know life with Abbi would be an adventure? When she told me to "lighten up and have fun." I believe she was 7. If I'm honest, I'd have to admit that it took me a few years to enjoy her. To be real honest, I stayed exasperated with her most of the time. She sees life in purple and I see life in black and white. However, being the psychology nerd that I am, I knew that my attitude towards her wouldn't help the mother/daughter bond, so I began to ask God to help me embrace her personality and appreciate our differences. There are many days that I have to stop and say a little prayer to myself, "God, HELP! I just don't get her!" He reminds me that she just doesn't get me either, most of the time. Thank goodness, I've begun to see life with Abbi as an adventure rather than a chore. I must admit that she has taught me just as much as I've taught her.