I Was Right, the Apple Really Does Not Fall Far From the Tree

Yesterday I claimed that Caroline's attraction to cups, mainly cups belonging to other people, was clearly inherited from her father, the undisputed King of Multiple Cups.
Well, the apple tree must be a duplex, because that poor child of mine has inherited some of my special, um, quirks. She doesn't look like me. She's an extrovert; I'm an extreme introvert. She's tall and lanky; and I'm, um, not. We're exact opposites on so many levels, but that kid of mine has inherited some of the crazy from me. Thankfully not a whole lot of crazy, but just enough to make me feel responsible.

Like her mother, Caroline is a quite the stickler for rules.
She gets so bunched up when the rules are broken. We're talking full on freak out when the kids at her lunch table get rowdy. Poor thing. Of all the traits to inherit from me, this is what she gets. I suppose she should be thankful she didn't get my prominent nose as well.

Now, I realize that this isn't a terrible thing. I'm glad she finds abiding by preset rules extremely important. However, when I find my uptight and rule abiding self telling Caroline to lighten up, you just have to wonder.

Today we went back to Pirate's Cove. Last week at the field trip, all of the first and second graders (excluding those on a swim team) were given a red bracelet. The red bracelet signified that they could only stay in the shallowest portion of the pool. No deep end swimming or diving board privileges. Caroline is a decent swimmer, but not on a swim team. She was clearly miffed and slightly embarrassed by the red bracelet. I promised her that I'd take her back another day so she could swim in the deeper water.

And today was that day.

I had planned on packing a frugal and healthful lunch and heading to the water park after the gym. However, Craig brought both of our coolers with him to Florida, so instead of packing a lunch, we went to McDonald's. It's the thought that counts, right? I just couldn't be bothered with finding an alternative lunch holder; I'm allowing my brain to go on vacation a few days early.

After we fueled up, I got a refill on my large diet Coke and off we went.

We arrived at Pirate's Cove, paid our admission fee and went to find a chair.
Pirate's Cove has a designated eating area with picnic tables, but they also allow food by the lounge chairs that are placed along the perimeter of the pool. There is a black line painted on the concrete and food and drinks are not to be consumed in front of the line.
Well, as I was holding the bulky eighty pound pool bag and my large diet Coke, I accidentally crossed over the black line, bringing my drink with me. Let me tell you, that just ate Caroline up.
"Mom, no food over the black line."
"Mom, your drink is over the black line."
"Mom, YOUR DRINK IS OVER THE LINE!!!"

Sheesh.

That's when I, the original uptight ruler follower, amused by the irony, told my little spawn to lighten up.

Again, I'm glad she's not a hoodlum.
I'm glad that she's never a behavior problem. I'm glad she respects the rules.

I'm just relieved she still sits in the back seat and doesn't have a clear view of my speedometer.
As it is, she's already a nagging back seat driver.