Say it with me now: The kids are alright!

Today at drop-off, the kids' classroom aide, Miss Mandy, said to me: "What do you feed your boys? Can we feed all the children what you feed them?"

At first I was thinking, "Veggie straws, instant oatmeal and repeated nights of ground turkey and tri-colored pasta??"

But then I figured out she was speaking metaphorically.

She then went on to say, "Your boys are so good. They are so well-behaved. They're so calm and composed. When other children's parents are late, they freak out (she said this in a very proper Indian accent, and so 'freaking out' sorta sounded like something one should try to do every day, but I digress), but when their Dad is late, they just say, 'OK. Dad is late. That's OK.'"

I looked at my two boys standing there on the white top. Cary was clinging to my leg saying, "You can't go. No thanks! No thanks!" and Dean was pretending to be a dinosaur or a monster or some such and was roaring in little Mackenzie's face. Bewildered, I thought to myself, "Whose kids is she talking about?"

Calm and composed? These nuts?  The same boys who hurled a tower of stacking cups down the stairs this morning, clattering plastic bowls across the living room and scaring the daylights out of their sister? Well-behaved? Miss Mandy must have them confused with some other Cary and Dean. Seriously.

Anyway, I know that kids are often one way at home and another way with other folks. But Miss Mandy's compliments reminded me that, more over-archingly, the kids are alright. They are fine. They are good kids, smart kids, just fine kids.

And all my synapse checklists and parenting craziness are simultaneously a waste of time and energy -- and working like a charm!

Hooray!

As confirmation, this blog post from June is making the rounds on Facebook today, and it's just what I needed.

The last line is where it's at:

Just be a good parent, love your kids, and do the best that you can.  Quit being a jackass to those who don’t share your choices. 
More importantly, quit being a jackass to yourselves. 

Holla!