Reality check

I am tired of people who think their kids are perfect.

OK...let me back up a little.

My children are amazing little beings.  They are smart, beautiful and full of personality.  I mean full of it.  No, seriously, sometimes they are FULL OF IT.  I have been lied to, "stolen" from, whispered about and ignored.  And that was only a Tuesday.  I have had eyes rolled at me, feet stomped past me, and more than once I'm pretty sure someone has tried to trip me.  No, my children are no angels; they are human beings.

I know a lot of people who apparently gave birth to honest to goodness walk-on-water do-no-wrong super-humans.  Their children never cause the trouble they always seem to find themselves in.  Their children's teachers are obviously lying when they suggest that the kids might need a little discipline.  Their children never talk back or argue.  In fact, their children could teach my children a thing or two about everything.  Right.

Here's the problem... I have eyes.  I have seen these sweet boys knock other kids down.  I have watched these girls make other girls feel terrible about themselves because of something they said.  In short, there's a remote possibility that their children might also be human beings.  But don't tell the parents that.

Now, to be fair, I do know some kids that I am pretty sure are very close to perfect.  They are always respectful, treat all of the other kids the same, and don't seem to have the kind of eyes that do any rolling.  Amazingly, however, most of the parents of these kids swear they are just like mine... imperfect.

I am not one of those people who cannot see the faults in my children.  The girls are, after all, carrying half of my DNA around.  If you tell me that one of them was involved in a problem, my first reaction is not to blame the other kid.  I will do all of my investigating, then I will place blame accordingly.  If it falls on the shoulders of one of my girls, so be it.  I'm all about reality. 

And, at a certain point, I am afraid I'll have to pull some adults into reality with me.  Because, if you walk around your whole life with your head buried in the sand, you'll miss the amazing things that happen inside a child when they realize that perfect is entirely over-rated.