One little daily ritual in our household is my "chase Sariah down the street" ritual. She thinks it's hilariously funny to escape out the front door and run, as fast as she can, in whatever direction is convenient. In an effort to combat this ongoing problem, we recently installed a door knob cover on the front door. Only there was one problem--half the time I couldn't get out the front door either! We have a stiff door knob, and adding that cover to the mix created a literal Fort Knox.
The other night, I allowed Sariah to go out in the front yard with the kids since an older neighbor girl was there, and I knew she would keep an eye on Sariah. After a few minutes, I could tell that A__ was getting tired of watching her, so I thought I would go outside myself and take over. Only I couldn't get out the front door! I tried, and tried, and tried. I took a break and tried again. And again. And again. Without success. Now why, you ask, didn't I just go out another door? Well, wouldn't you know, at this moment our garage door is stuck closed because all the batteries and what-have-you have died in the opener. And we just installed padlocks on all the fence gates in the backyard to keep the dog in. The keys are in a safe place, out of reach, and I figured by the time I got the keys and opened the gate, I could have the front door open... after all, I managed to get the front door open about 50 percent of the time.
So what did I do? I did the obvious--I went upstairs, opened the window, and yelled for Dallin to come and let me out of the house. And what did Dallin do? He did the obvious too--he saw this as an opportunity to get something for himself out of the whole deal. He laughingly came to the door and said, "Ok, I'll open the door for you if I get to play the Wii." To which I replied, "This is not a bribe! Just open the door and let me out!" In the meantime, I could see Sariah playing happily on the edge of the road, and I knew time was running out. After all, she can't go too long without looking for mischief.
So we went back and forth, Dallin and I, as to whether there were any strings attached in his opening the front door. Finally he did (amazingly, I didn't give in to either bribes or threats!). I ran outside and Sariah was nowhere to be found. Then find her I did--at the corner, perilously close to the busy street that runs behind our house. As soon as she saw me, she grinned and took off running as fast as possible toward the said busy street. I think I could win an actual race if my daughter were to take off ahead of me, leading the way! I never run so fast as I do when Sariah is sprinting toward danger, going faster and faster simply because she knows she's not supposed to.
Luckily, I caught up with her about two feet before she hit the busy street. Moms can still outrun silly little girls! I breathlessly carried her back home, only to see the neighbors peering over their fence laughing at me. The one neighbor commented, "Wow, I bet you haven't run that fast in a long time!" To which I replied, "Hey, I run this fast every day."
The logical consequence of this little escapade was that Sariah had to stay indoors the rest of the evening. And I found a new door knob cover for the door.
The other night, I allowed Sariah to go out in the front yard with the kids since an older neighbor girl was there, and I knew she would keep an eye on Sariah. After a few minutes, I could tell that A__ was getting tired of watching her, so I thought I would go outside myself and take over. Only I couldn't get out the front door! I tried, and tried, and tried. I took a break and tried again. And again. And again. Without success. Now why, you ask, didn't I just go out another door? Well, wouldn't you know, at this moment our garage door is stuck closed because all the batteries and what-have-you have died in the opener. And we just installed padlocks on all the fence gates in the backyard to keep the dog in. The keys are in a safe place, out of reach, and I figured by the time I got the keys and opened the gate, I could have the front door open... after all, I managed to get the front door open about 50 percent of the time.
So what did I do? I did the obvious--I went upstairs, opened the window, and yelled for Dallin to come and let me out of the house. And what did Dallin do? He did the obvious too--he saw this as an opportunity to get something for himself out of the whole deal. He laughingly came to the door and said, "Ok, I'll open the door for you if I get to play the Wii." To which I replied, "This is not a bribe! Just open the door and let me out!" In the meantime, I could see Sariah playing happily on the edge of the road, and I knew time was running out. After all, she can't go too long without looking for mischief.
So we went back and forth, Dallin and I, as to whether there were any strings attached in his opening the front door. Finally he did (amazingly, I didn't give in to either bribes or threats!). I ran outside and Sariah was nowhere to be found. Then find her I did--at the corner, perilously close to the busy street that runs behind our house. As soon as she saw me, she grinned and took off running as fast as possible toward the said busy street. I think I could win an actual race if my daughter were to take off ahead of me, leading the way! I never run so fast as I do when Sariah is sprinting toward danger, going faster and faster simply because she knows she's not supposed to.
Luckily, I caught up with her about two feet before she hit the busy street. Moms can still outrun silly little girls! I breathlessly carried her back home, only to see the neighbors peering over their fence laughing at me. The one neighbor commented, "Wow, I bet you haven't run that fast in a long time!" To which I replied, "Hey, I run this fast every day."
The logical consequence of this little escapade was that Sariah had to stay indoors the rest of the evening. And I found a new door knob cover for the door.
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