Never Say Never

This afternoon, I offered my little man a binky.

He took it.

He is three years old. He hasn't had a binky for well over a year.

I had half-jokingly offered him the silly thing. I really didn't expect him to take it and proceed to chew on it during the entire car ride to the gym.

Before I had kids, I'm fairly certain I would have been appalled at someone who would offer a preschooler a binky, even if only for a short car ride. Now I know better.

I've learned to say, “never say never.” At least I've learned to say this with things that won't matter in the long run.

So, this means I've used the television as a baby-sitter. I've counted french fries as a vegetable. I've skipped giving the kids baths for more than a couple of nights in a row, and those are just the things I'm willing to publicly admit.

Sure, those things aren't the norm at our house. However, they certainly occur more often than I ever thought they would.

This parenting gig is hard enough without trying to live by a set of self-imposed “I'll never ” rules. Wouldn't you agree?

What about you? Have you found yourself doing something as a parent that you never thought you'd do?