OH NO! I CAUGHT YOU AGAIN!

She has always been in some sort of trouble. Even now as my heart soars to see her at the end of the school day, her classroom behavior plagues me with daily notes from the teacher.

When did it start? I am not really sure. Maybe, on that fateful day when she was 18 months old and I saw a marked change in the, previously PERFECT, behavior of my small child. I asked her, “Is my little angel turning into my little monster?” With a happily mischievous look she took a deep breath and growled. “RAWRRRRR!!!”

I guess I should have known then that I was in for it. As the days passed, I found murals, carefully drawn in sharpie, on the walls of our rental. Dirt became her favorite snack. If that wasn’t available grass or leaves were a favored alternative. Any tool or item that could alter any other item was a newfound toy. A fork to etch made up words into the oak dresser her Great-grandfather had built for her. Crayons have marked on the doorjambs and walls labeling everything as hers. Stickers placed on every conceivable surface. Red-orange lip-gloss painted into the fabric of our old beige couch. All these actions are signs of careful execution and total lack of exercise of impulse control.

So, now at the ripe old age of eight, should I be surprised by what I see when I walk around the corner? My heart sinks as I say, “Oh no! I caught you again.”