Hmmm...at this point I'm not sure whether he will be a multicultural, musical prodigy or just a complete goofball...I suppose it could go either way...

Breaking the Rules

I am a stickler for naps, even at four years old.  Jason and I have just found that all three of us are happier if Charlie gets even a little bit of sleep mid-afternoon.  The time varies based on our activities -- as does the location -- but it never fails: if Charlie naps we have delightful evenings; if he doesn't bedtime seems like a distant dream.

Weekends are always the hardest, though.  Our standard rule is that whether or not he sleeps, Charlie has to spend at least one hour "resting" and another playing quietly in his room. (And yes, this is at least as much for me as him -- but I figure that I figure he gets a lot of his personality traits from me, so I'm probably much more pleasant when I've had my "me-time").

So I'm sure Charlie was downright shocked this afternoon when I opened his door a mere hour into nap, acknowledged that he hadn't slept and told him to get up and go help his dad in the yard.  We had a bit of a tussle when he wanted to wear his church pants out (they apparently double as safari-pants due to their color), but came to a compromise when he unearthed an old pair.

Imagine his surprise and Jason's and my delight when Charlie walked out to find his brand new tire swing house-warming gift from Texas instead of chores.  Grandma and Grandpa are officially the coolest people in the world for at least the rest of the day -- to say nothing of Mom and Dad who managed to hang the crazy thing without a ladder and without killing each other.

I guess once in a while some rules are meant to be broken (at Mom's discretion of course).

Dear Charlie,

My dear, sweet boy, you are going to be wrong in your life much more often than you'd like to admit. I know this because it's true of everyone since Adam, but more importantly because as much as you look like your father, you take after your mother in many ways...

So I have some very important advice for you: anytime there is a problem, anytime there is a question, anytime there is a disagreement, anytime there is confusion, before you waste your time worrying about, blaming or accusing another double check your facts...

You see, July 2013 was the first full month that we had renters in the Summerville house.  We found a beautiful family who are kind, honest and excited to live in the home we love so much, and especially after some of our other prospects, your Dad and I are extremely grateful for this family.

The first rent payment was due on July first, but the father called on the second to let us know they'd forgotten to mail it over the weekend, so it would not arrive until the third (still well within the grace period of the lease).  Knowing the terms of the lease, Daddy and I were comfortable and impressed that they'd called so soon.

But then the check didn't come on the third, and of course July fourth is a holiday, and the check still didn't come the fifth or the sixth.  Daddy decided to wait through the weekend until today (July eighth), but when we checked the mail there was still no payment.  We were very concerned.

Daddy and I had both thought very highly of this family and wanted to be gracious and kind and understanding, but we also knew this wasn't a very promising start to a rental relationship.  And to be frank, without their rent we could not afford to pay the mortgage on the Summerville house...so we needed that payment.

After checking the mail this evening, Daddy called the father who then called the mother who was not at home, but knew for a fact that she had mailed the check on the second.  As Daddy and I waited for the call with the address and details of her payment (thankfully the mother is very detail oriented and saved her shipping documents), Daddy decided to check the lease to verify that there were not any additional addresses that may have confused her (since we had repurposed a friend's lease). 

There were not, but there was another glaring problem.  Mommy had typed the wrong address in the payment section.  Rather than ending in a 2, I had ended the house address in a 6.  For almost a week Daddy and I have wondered and worried over a missing rent payment that I had had mailed to the wrong house.

Obviously, I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't verify the payment address on the lease. (Not an excuse but a sad fact: I'm not a very detail oriented person and horrible about proof reading.) Additionally, I am terribly regretful that my mistake led your father to make a "collections" call to our renters who had done everything right.

At four years old, there is no way you can really learn from mistake, but in the midst of my humiliation something occurred to me -- despite being a forum for funny stories and cute pictures, this blog is primarily for you.  It's your baby book.  It's your history.  It's a record of Daddy's and my love for you that I hope you'll have until you're old and gray.  By sharing my mistake in this forum in the hopes that you will one day read through all these stories and anecdotes and conversations, maybe you will be quicker to scrutinize yourself than others and therein save yourself, your wife and others all sorts of headaches and embarrassment over the years.  I sure hope so.

All my love,
Mommy

P.S.  And yes, as always, God is more merciful to me than I expect.  The address I provided was that of our new next door neighbors, whom we had yet to meet before this evening.  They are a delightful older couple named Bobby and Geri who have been traveling for the past week.  The mailman should bring all their held mail tomorrow, so they have not had the chance to question, throw away or send back the envelope addressed to your Daddy at their address.  We should be able to call the renting family tomorrow and let them know their check is safely deposited despite my mistake and lengthy delay in recognizing it.

So thoughtful

Charlie: May I pleeeeassse take a picture?
Mommy: Yes.  But be careful not to touch the lense.
Charlie: I'll take a picture of myself

Charlie proceeds to stand by the desk and take many, many pictures...

Mommy: You sure are taking a lot of pictures?
Charlie: Yeah.  It's so if you miss me you can see me a lot.