I was feeling slightly guilty even if Zoe was happily dancing away to the music, because it was 9pm and way past her bedtime. She was supposed to be in bed so she wouldn't be too tired at dance class the next day. But then later, while she 'painted' our cut-out cookies with egg using her (almost) clean water color brush (because who has a baking brush anyway?) and sprinkled them with cinnamon and almonds I had a realization: I am simply not that kind of mom. I am not the mom who follows a ridged schedule, who makes sure my daughter brushes her teeth every single night without exception. And I'm not the mom who has rules about half an hour 'screen time' and 'eat up what's on your plate'. I don't think the most important thing is to eat the candy *after* dinner; if it's there, you can eat it. Instead, I'm that other mom. I'm the mom who decides to bake cookies at 9pm because that's the time we have to do this and Zoe wants to help. I'm the mom who occasionally lets Zoe watch the Polar Express with me and then try to soothe her with an hour of Mikey Mouse afterwards. And if she wants a bit of candy she can have it. Fact is that she inherited her mom's very picky taste for candy and cookies, mainly liking higoodgh quality chocolate or backed goods. She will eat three winegums if you give her a full bag and she never finishes the plate of chocolate I put in front of her. We had fun painting the cookies and while they baked she put on her pajamas. I decided not to feel guilty about any of this but instead treasure the time we have together. I am very lucky because she rarely gets cranky when she gets tired. She slows down but is her usual easygoing self. But moms come in many different types, and I'm simply a different type than one I used to think I was. So although Zoe had a (very tired) fit when I finally told her that she could not take off her pajamas to put on her dance clothes at 10pm, it was perfect when I snuggled up with her in my big bed as we both drifted off to sleep together.
