Zero Control

I have read that once a child leaves the womb, parents have zero control over what happens to him or her. With that in mind, I do not claim any influence over the fact that Meredith has been 98% successful today with potty training and has pooped without any ushering.

I can't figure it out. I rush Child #1, get less and less pushy with each kid on the start time of learning how to use the toilet on their own and...they teach themselves by Child #4. Amazing. The things I could write a book about...to myself, of course. There's no way that what worked for our house would work for anyone else, but then again whose to say that doing a hands-off approach would have done any good for Louie? The only thing it would have done is made me less crazy. I worried so much about him being potty trained for the sole reason he was two-years-old.

And I would be a fool to assume that the successes she's had today will be replicated tomorrow. I can dream, but I've learned that my job is to be the supporter and praiser. She is doing great and has just enough words in her vocabulary to call Daddy at work and tell him the good news!