In Which A Bad Parenting Moment Leads My Daughter to a Moment of Startling Clarity and Wisdom

Yesterday I was getting a little grumpy about the number of times my daughter Cassidy went off in a corner to hide that she was pooping in her pants, then resisted my attempts to clean her up afterwards.  She reiterated her oft-stated position:  she thinks four is about the right age to learn to poop in the potty.  I groused, "Well, you know, a lot of kids your age actually do learn to poop in the potty.  So don't feel like you have to wait until you're four.  You could get started learning any time now, as far as I'm concerned."

"But Mama," she said calmly, "Cassidy is Cassidy.  So I have to do it this way."

Well, I'll be damned, I thought.  

I hunkered down to look her right in those gorgeous hazel eyes of hers, put my hands on her shoulders, and said, "Cassidy, you are so right.  I hope you always remember that what works for somebody else might not work for you."

I don't blame her for hiding when she poops in her pants.  She knows she's likely to get a lecture when I find out what she's done.  I just have to--breathe, now, Carrie--let go of rushing this whole potty learning business and trust that some day, she will indeed learn.  Not the Carrie way, but the Cassidy Way.