[creative parenting tip] i found these cotton balls left on the deck and my first instinct was to blame my daughter for leaving them behind - she is home for a visit (having moved to california for college) and she has given me good reason to hold her suspect...these cotton balls sent me back to a time when i was dealing with the on-going challenge of holding my daughter to the high standard of making a contribution to the betterment of the world around her by enforcing the principle “leave the room better than when you entered it”

historically, she shared a bathroom with her brother and the sink she normally used is the furthest from the garbage can - her nightly routine included removing her make-up and placing the used cotton balls and q-tips on the edge of the sink (never mind that the garbage can was no more than five feet away) so one day, i was fed up with the disrespect she consistently showed by leaving the blackened cotton balls and q-tips and i decided to invent a creative parenting method to deal with them - so, similar to the hook situation, i was again challenged to find a way to cleverly require her (not ME!) to to deal with the proper disposal of these offending items

i knew the hook would not work this time because she could ignore them and i would still be forced to nag or dispose of them myself - either way, only she would “win” - but then, it dawned on me that there was at least one place that i could leave them - in her bed, between the sheets...hehe!

i so enjoyed picturing her sleepily pulling back the covers to crawl in bed only to discover the items in question - or better yet, not seeing them first, but feeling them as she slid her feet into bed and then would have to grope around in the dark to find what had brushed up against her legs (i do deserve the “momster” title don’t i?)

following numerous reoccurrences of this exact incident, she never disappointed me by complaining (or even acknowledging) what had just transpired - instead, each time she simply disposed of the evidence and said nothing - problem handled and i am quite entertained...you may not think it’s funny, but i do!

now back to the present, these cotton balls were not the typical version that i was accustomed to seeing her leave as proof that she had been there before me, they clearly had not been used to remove make-up - in fact, during this entire visit, there hadn’t been any used cotton balls or q-tips left at the normal scene of the crime (first sink as you enter the bathroom) ...she has changed, and for the better!

and concerning cotton balls, i guess more than make-up has been “rubbing off” (and better habits have begun to “sink” in...HA!)  AGAIN, you may not think it’s funny, but i do!

because it matters,

jayne