Oops

I make mistakes all the time. I'm assuming other people mess up on occasion, too, but it's harder to tell. I stay at home with a four-year-old and two-year-old all day, except when I work, and then I'm in a classroom in front of twenty-eight young adults. And I've found with both groups it's better to fess up and fix problems rather than hiding them--because they're smart, blast it, and they'll notice what I do.

So when I tell my four-year-old, "Ooops. I messed up. Mommy shouldn't have used a mean voice when she talked to you after you accidentally spilled your cereal," or when I tell my students "I really should be nicer about journals at the beginning of the semester--I'll write them on the board so you know what's coming up" (as I will need to say next time), I'm not only apologizing. I'm (hopefully) showing them that it's okay to be wrong, that it's better to fix a problem than pretend it doesn't exist, and that open communication is important.

I'll be perfect tomorrow, I promise! Or tonight, maybe, after I fall to sleep...

This is the face I would make while falling to sleep. If I had a camera right above me. And if I were even close to this cute.