Practice Makes Perfect

Necessary background information:  Courtney has been asking me for a sister, preferably one named Lainie who is 4.5 years old, quite often lately.

Last evening, after returning from work/piano lessons/soccer and while I was preparing dinner/monitoring Christopher completing his homework/emptying lunch boxes/signing permission slips for after school activities/writing checks for after school activities/drinking a cup of tea/listening to Courtney read her Word Wall Words 600 times/cleaning out 3 week old sludge from a fridge drawer that wouldn't open due to the rotten glaze that had been pears and that had leaked and settled in the drawer slides/trying to train the dog to run the microwave (okay, I may be embellishing the scene a bit...it was NOT tea, unless like me, you call your carbonated barley and hops beverage of choice "tea" to make yourself feel more centered and Eastern Asian), Courtney asked,

 "Mom, someday soon can we have a whole day called a Practice Day?"  

To this question I gave my most readily used and automated response to my children's requests, "Maybe someday."

In between sips Word Wall Words, I replayed what she had asked me in my head and decided it was worth digging a bit deeper into.  

"What is a 'Practice Day' Courts?"

"It's a day, like a Sunday, where we practice all day.  I would practice piano.  And tying my shoes.  And spelling.  Christopher would practice being a nice brother.  And sharing.  And talking nicely.  And you and Daddy would practice making me a baby sister, named Lainie who is four and a half."

"Sorry Courts, Practice Day is a definite no-go."