Idle Hands...

Apparently my 6- and 8-yr-old just had nothing better to do than tie their 3-yr-old sister to the swingset! The other day, I was sitting at the dining room table sipping my mid-afternoon coffee and reading the day-old paper when I remembered that my 3-yr-old was outside playing with my oh-so-reliable-and-perfectly-capable older daughters watching over her. I was half-reading the paper and half-conversing with a couple of my daughters when it suddenly registered that the couple of daughters that I was conversing with were the oh-so-reliable-and-perfectly-capable girls I had entrusted the care of my 3-yr-old to! They are 11 and 9. I asked, "Where is Kaisa? Is she still outside?" They said, "Yes.." I asked, "Why didn't you take her in like I had asked you to do when you come in?" One of them said, "Oh, Sofia said she would watch her!" Sofi is pretty responsible with her little sister but she is just a little unpredictable! I opened the patio door and looked into the back yard and was greeted by the sight of the 6- and 8-yr-old tying the 3-yr-old to the post of the swingset! I yelled out there, "Hey you two! What on earth are you doing?" To which Kaisa replied, "They're tyin' me up!" To which I asked, "What would possess you to do that?" Sofia simply explained, "Kaisa told us to tie her up!" Oh, okay! That makes it perfectly reasonable..a 3-yr-old requested it! I told her, "No, don't listen to her about that kind stuff! I want you to untie her right away so she doesn't get forgotten there!" Sofia said, "We won't forget her! I promise!!!" Uuuh-huh! Heard that before! Good thing I have this many children! Not a chance I'll believe them! That would be an almost guarantee they'll forget her...*visions of Child Protection Service workers enter my head. I could just see it...hours later, as dusk has set in, someone would suddenly say, "Hey, where is Kaisa?" Then it would hit like a thunder-clap.."Sof-i-a!!! Did you remember to untie Kaisa from the swingset post?" ..and the so familiar reply, "Uuummmm....I forgot!" Then as we all run out to the backyard, swarms of Child Protection Service workers are also descending upon our backyard. Kaisa, dressed only in a T-shirt, fleece pants (at least they're fleece! Fleece is warm!) and bare feet is slumped, semi-conscious and hypothermic. I count the CPS workers...1-2-3-4-5---6!!! One for each of my children! They're taking my babies away!!! As they drag the kids away, Sofia is busy telling me, "Mom, I promise...next time I tie her up, I won't forget!!!"* This all plays itself out in my mind in a matter of seconds. I just said, "Yes, Sofi! You won't forget her tied up there because you will be untying her right now!" I must have had that And I Mean It look on my face because, without further argument, she went from winding the rope in one direction back to winding the rope back in the direction it had come from! As I sat back down to continue my sipping and reading, I thought, "I should be taking a picture of this!" The one functioning brain cell I have did a quick spasm, a flop, and nearly fizzled out! I decided that I better just save the energy for something else then!