New parenting cheatcode unlocked (July 6)

If you’re a long time reader of the #dailydad series you know my goal as a parent is to make my children as self sufficient as possible as early as possible. 60% of me does this because I think children who can take care of themselves grow up to be more resourceful humans. And 40% of me does this because I am a lazy parent. I mean, if I’m gonna buy them stuff like clothes and food I may as well get something out of it you know? Right now the resourcefulness is limited to them doing their laundry, bringing in the trash cans, and occasionally cleaning the upstairs (only after hours or nagging and a series of idle threats).

But yesterday we unlocked a whole new level of self sufficiency.

It was a Sunday morning and we decided to walk to breakfast. Lily has reached an age where she’s confident enough on her bike to navigate the 1 mile trip from our house to downtown Bothell where we live. It’s a series of steep hills (about 200’ of elevation change in less than a mile), road crossings, 4 way stops, 2 way stops (every biker’s arch nemesis), and sidewalks.

She asked if she could go out ahead and we said yes on the condition that if she got there before us she had to get a table for the four of us. She said “ok!” and took off.

Within a few seconds she was out of sight. I half expected to find her sitting outside the restaurant when we the rest of us got there about 10 minutes later (we were walking). But lo and behold when we arrived she had gotten us a table, ordered water, and even got us a table outside!

So now we have kids who can do their own laundry AND get us a table? What else do I have to teach them??