Miss Independent

The other night I decided it was time to show Charlotte how to make her own dinner to foster independence and help her gain skills to manage her life in the future. Just kidding. I was just tired of her constantly asking me for food so in an exhausted moment I screamed “get your own food if you’re so hungry you can’t wait five minutes!” And this was how Miss Independent was born.

It’s not difficult for her to make her own dinner because 9 times out of 10 she just wants macaroni with butter. So nutritious. I always make a pound of macaroni to keep in the fridge because I refuse to continue making macaroni every single night, so I showed her how to take everything out of the fridge and how to use the microwave. It’s really not that difficult and she picked up on it quickly. Last night she took it upon herself to make dinner for herself and her sister. She brought the chair over to the fridge, got out everything she needed and made two bowls of macaroni. Then she sat at Mackenzie’s table with her and helped feed her.

It was honestly one of the finer moments of mothering for me. To watch her take care of herself and Mackenzie without any prompting warmed my heart so much. And to have one less task that I need to complete on any given day was a bonus too. Maybe in a few weeks she can take over some other duties too, like diaper changes, bath time and bed time. Then my life can really change!