And The Winner Is...

As I walked my daughters to their play rehearsal today, their brother scootering along (and usually ahead), one of them began to complain about being cold.  Now I have sympathy for people who are cold--I am almost always cold myself.  Yet the complaining child was wearing a t-shirt, just a t-shirt, under her coat.  I am generally cold despite several long-sleeve layers, and she was complaining while wearing just a t-shirt.  Since we were bordering on being late to rehearsal, going back upstairs for another layer was definitely not an option.  She would just have to be cold.  And get to rehearsal.  So, what began as a tirade about her not thinking about it being winter turned into an entire riff (which distracted us for most of the half-mile walk) about how, while my kids might well be the geniuses of the household, I was the winner, hands-down, of the prize for common sense.  I acknowledged that I can barely help them with their math and science homework (thank goodness my husband can!).  But I very firmly, and actually quite enthusiastically, maintained my position as the unquestioned common sense winner.

At the time, I really just started this to keep us laughing and walking, but as it went on, and even after, I found myself owning that made-up title in a very powerful way.  Job change makes us question every bit of what we know and what we can do, and in that crazy moment today, I realized and celebrated two of my greatest skills--common sense and adaptability.  I took what could have been a complete meltdown and falling apart of our journey and made it a laugh riot.  (Perhaps I should add sense of humor to that skill set.)  I said out loud that I was the winner, the household common sense expert.  And I said it a few more times, just for effect.  While it may not be something I can put on a resume, it is certainly something I will keep in mind when meeting new people and facing new situations.

Thanks to my riff today, we made it to rehearsal on time and not frozen.  I am not convinced that the t-shirt on a winter day thing won't happen again.  But next time, the hands-down common sense winner will once again be on the case.  Because using our strongest skills to tackle the trickiest situations--that's what we winners do.