by Brian
As mentioned last week, we are adding some shorter segments called Jolee Minis and Dylan Shorts to provide some further insight into the incredible minds of our kids. With that said, here are two from our girl.
Breakfast anyone?
Jolee was just over 21 years old when she moved out from under our roof and into the apartment with her brother Dylan. She can be anxious about change, so you can imagine how proud we were as she spent that first night in the new apartment. We were on standby for any texts, phone calls, or even a late night visit from her, but the night passed without event. As nervous parents, we actually walked Junior by their apartment a few times to secretly check in. The next morning, I was awakened very early with a rap tap tap at our door. As I wearily looked through the peephole, I saw Jolee standing, smiling, and knocking away. I opened the door and with her brightest smile heard her ask just one question… “Hey, where is my breakfast?”
Impulse to clean
Living in a first-floor apartment has its challenges including “management” of window blinds. To our kids, it is not readily apparent when they should not keep the blinds closed all day and night. We actually formally schedule opening the blinds each morning and closing them each night. Somehow the concept of allowing sunlight in during the day while also protecting your privacy as night was a challenge.
Jolee is very impulsive and another challenge with her (now open) blinds is that she can clearly see outside her bedroom window. One day, we got a loud knock at our door and there was Jolee. It was winter and she was frazzled without her shoes or a coat. It turns out that she had seen trash blowing around outside her window and simply had to pick it up. Though probably not the first time she has done this, she did exit the apartment without keys and it turned out the building keypad to reenter was not working. She got upset, but she knew our building code and thus the trip to our door. Though we were a bit anxious, we were proud that she had figured out what to do. We also talked her through alternatives like knocking on Dylan’s window or heading to the main building if we had not been home. We know that our kids’ problem solving skills are important and we will continue to focus here. Is it a bit sad that I wish more people had Jolee’s impulse to clean?