No Sweat

My son Jacob is full of surprises. After days of torturing him all for the cause of learning to buckle his own seat belt, blogging about it yesterday, and thinking we've got more days of pain ahead, he has left me in the dust.

Today, I opened the front door and sent Jacob and Ethan out to the car, then had to pop back in for a forgotten something or other. (At a vacation house in the country, we're NOT home in NYC, don't worry.) 

When I came out again, mere moments later, Jacob was in the car, seat all buckled. Not a peep, not a murmur, job done. WOW. Happy dance!  I was so happy and proud for him, and of course I told him so. And then when we got back in the car after a lot of fun at Egremont Fun Day? The same (see picture above.)

And now, of course I feel like such a parenting fail for not doing this sooner, and vow to try to replicate this throughout his life when I find myself doing things for him that a typical eight year old boy (is there such a thing?) should be doing for himself. 

I will of course fail miserably at this vow, but at least I can remind myself of it from time to time.

OK, he still doesn't get the "straps go under the booster arm" concept, but that's the small stuff.  

And that, I'm not wasting sweat on.