Daddy Will Fix It

I admit it, I’ve gotten lazy. But in the ebb and flow of marital responsibility, my husband and I have subconsciously divided duties. I can fix things– really. I’m actually quite handy. But on a day-to-day basis with two small children, sometimes it’s easier to put chores off on my husband.

Oh, the leg broke off of your dollhouse chair? Daddy will fix it. Your super fun toy that makes really loud noises has run out of batteries? Daddy will fix it.

This was working out splendidly for me…until it wasn’t.

My daughter (who observes everything I do like a vulture) was playing with a baby whose legs were made of Styrofoam. (Yes, you heard me. Someone made a baby, dressed it in fancy clothes and beautiful shoes, and then chose to make it’s legs out of Styrofoam.) One leg broke off and she ran screaming to me, tears pouring down her face.

“Mom, I broke the baby!” She wailed.

I had just recently bought a new bottle of Gorilla Glue, and was currently looking for any excuse to use it. I mean shit, that stuff is amazing! It’s like super glue, but has a cooler label, better name AND doesn’t come in a one-ounce container.

Where was I? Oh yes. So, being the brilliantly talented and capable woman that I am, I volunteered to fix it.

“Let Mama fix that right up for you,” I began.

“No. Daddy will fix it.”

“No. Mama will fix it. I have glue right here.” I tried to remain calm but I could feel the situation escalating.

“No. When things break we wait for daddy to get home,” my daughter plain stated.

You may have figured out the problem by now; in being lazy and pushing off “fix it” items to my husband, I had inadvertently been teaching my daughter that only her daddy can do it. What behavior was I modeling for her? Wait for a man to get the job done? Screw that. (OK, maybe I’m being dramatic. But it’s a slippery slope.)

I got out my trusty bottle of glue and fixed that baby doll up, with my daughter sitting beside me. I had her go collect all of her broken toys that had got tossed back into the toy chest (OK, floor) and like the accomplished females that we are, we repaired what was broken.

Sometimes it is the littlest, simplest actions that kids remember. It’s the seemingly mundane moments that make up a childhood. And although glueing a princess head back into a plastic doll, or repairing a broken axle on a tiny car isn’t now exactly my idea of an amazing time, it is nice to be able to say, “No honey, MAMA WILL FIX IT.”