Angel in Disguise

A few nights ago, I had my first parent-teacher phone conversation--the first one where I was the parent, I mean. The two key pieces of information I gleaned from this conversation were as follows:

1) Keira has been knocking down other kids' block towers and squishing their Play-Doh art during play time...and then LAUGHING about it...and yammering so much during rehearsal that she recently became That Kid Who Has to Sit Right Next to the Teacher.

2) Keira is going to be a dove and an angel in "The Story of Jesus," which her preschool will be performing next month.

As I've mentioned once or twice, I love me some irony, so let's just pause for a moment and appreciate the perfection of my child being cast as symbols of peace and divine goodness in a performance for which she cannot, apparently, rehearse because she is too busy being a little devil.

Okay, now let's move on to the part where I try to simultaneously convey surprise, dismay, intentions to handle The Matter, confident agreement with Mrs. B.'s assurances that this is nothing outside the norm, and the appropriate amount of embarrassment...whatever that may be.

It's not that Keira is entirely peaceful and angelic at home; she's done her fair share of time-outs, and there's nary a silent moment when she's around. (You know those studies that say babies need to hear about 30,000 words a day to develop a strong vocabulary and increased intelligence? We're pretty sure that Elliana is getting this much verbal input from her big sister alone. Noooo problem.) As four-year-olds go, though, we think of her as a pretty well-behaved kid, and I've never considered her to be malicious or a bully. What gives??

My guess is that Mrs. B.'s theory is right: that Keira is mimicking the behaviors that Ellie inflicts on HER at home. Ever since Ellie became mobile, she's half "welcome playmate" and half "bane of her big sister's existence," and poor Kiwi can't build a puzzle or draw a picture without Ellie coming over to wreak havoc on it. We do our best to control the squabbling and give Keira her own space when we can, but it seems we've missed the boat when it comes to conveying that just because Elliana finds it hilarious to destroy everything in sight, doesn't mean it's okay for Big Girls to do it...and definitely not to their friends. Ooops.

The teacher did reassure me repeatedly that Keira is generally a very sweet girl, though, and at no point did she describe her as "spirited," so I think we're gonna be okay. As for the talking part? I'd send a roll of duct tape in her backpack, but I'm not sure that would even slow her down!

I guess this is further evidence that what my friends with older kids keep telling me is true: parenting gets harder, not easier, as kids get older. I've always somehow believed the sleepless nights, constant nursing, diaper blowouts, and toddler tantrums were the worst of it, and then it would be smooth sailing until at least the 'tween years...but while the physical load is getting lighter, the "Whoa, we could totally screw these kids up!" factor becomes ever more present. Jackie O. once said, "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much" (no pressure there, right?), so apparently it's time to get our game faces on and get ready to do some actual, you know...parenting. And, who knows? Maybe becoming the eventual parents of two teenaged girls will be exactly what it takes to turn Bear and me into the praying type!