Mini-Mom Goes Old School

That's what my son calls my youngest daughter. He calls her Mini-Mom because she looks so much like me. Tuesday night at therapy, I explained the following to my therapist:

1. Mini-Mom started middle school this year at a performing arts academy. She was stunned and dismayed to find out that they still study math there and you can't sing your way through the assignments. Yes, we all need to know how to read, write and do math and that is just a fact of life. Even in a performing arts academy. Enter high drama. *deep sigh from Original-Mom (me)*

2. Mini-Mom is smart. The evidence -- she tried to ditch a homework assignment and the teacher emailed us about it on a Friday after school. I got frustrated and grounded Mini-Mom. I told her she could not go outside to play until she completed the assignment. She then got upset because she had neglected to bring home her textbook and would not be able to get to it until Monday and so she could not do the assignment and would be grounded all weekend. Or so I thought. But Mini-Mom sprang into action. She went online and found contact information for the publisher of the textbook and then she made some phone calls and had the assignment emailed to her and then she printed it out and completed it so she wouldn't be grounded anymore. And she is only eleven!!

3. Mini-Mom spoke to a few of her friends in the neighborhood who attend the local public school. From those conversations and her own online research, she deduced that the local public school has lower academic standards and she began an unbelievable campaign to attend there. It was complete with tantrums and falling on the floor and screaming, etc. And the Oscar goes to... Mini-Mom!!! I tried my best, but I broke because I was finally exhausted by her incredible bombardment. I told the husband to take her to the local public school and enroll her to make it stop. He did it. And then Mini-Mom was having second thoughts after actually visiting the local public school, seeing the kids and their behavior and hearing about the bomb threats, lock downs, etc. And then she panicked (for good reason). Then, she got on the phone, called the old school and asked to speak with the principal and got herself re-enrolled in the school we originally chose for her. She took the initiative and did this herself. Did I mention that she's only eleven? Yeah. She's a go-getter. She just needs to do her freakin' homework is all.

I told my therapist all of this. He said, "She reminds me very much of someone else I know in a very important way." I waited for him to tell me some tale about someone he knows. When he implied that I knew the same person, I was perplexed and then I figured he meant some famous person whose story was known by everyone else but me. And then he said, "It is you. She reminds me of YOU. She is very resourceful." Well, duh!!! Of course she is!!! She's Mini-Mom!!! And it's okay for me to say that because I will never loose sight of the fact that she is really just herself, which is more than fine by me. But I still insist that she needs to do her homework.