Melting Down.

Do you remember how the world ended on a daily basis when you were a kid?
Emotionally I mean.
Your mom says you can't wear your new dress to school - waaaaaaaaaaaah!

You can't find your favorite toy - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Your mermaid melted - wait? what?

The seven year old is into beeswax.
She sculpts with it. It's her thing.
She's good at it.

She makes mermaids. Her friends want one. She has 'orders' and a wait list.
She loves that aspect especially.

I am quite proud. It's very sweet to see your kid so happy and filled with self pride.
She's industrious with her orders which keeps her busy and quiet.
(Those might be the two best words a parent can hear.)

That is until she takes the mermaid to bed and it melts in her hand.
I awoke at 6.40am to a VERY distressed seven year old and a VERY melted mermaid.

I think I handled it well bearing in mind I had told her she couldn't take a mermaid to bed because it would melt. That's pretty clear right?
We had even put it in a safe place with it's own little mermaid blanket but someone got up after I left the room and did what she was specifically asked not to do.
So you could say that she learned the consequences of her actions.
Which would satisfy me as a punishment except that it melted all over her nightie and bedding.

So, there she is breaking her heart and despite the fact that I am looking at a morning of extra laundry, I find myself comforting my instruction ignoring seven year old.
She was so upset - I had to make undeliverable promises just so we could catch the school bus.
So on top of the laundry I now have to re-make a mermaid.

Beeswax mermaids - not my best skill.
How did we go from really happy, proud kid to ruined bedding and beeswax challenged mom?
This parenting thing - crazy.