Why Daniel Will Never Be “in Charge” Again

We found this the other day.  Hey, he fully understands what to do with shaving cream, I will say that for him.

Just for the record:  I was out walking, and I left Alan in charge, so this one wasn’t my fault.

Speaking of ‘in charge’, I will never, ever leave Daniel “in charge” again. I often tell Joshua or Caleb they are ‘in charge’ of the others while I take a shower or run outside to check the mail, you get the idea.  It’s always the oldest child present that gets to be in charge.  This has proved quite useful over the years for keeping Joshua and Caleb in line.  They take it very seriously, and it gives them a feeling of leadership that they really enjoy.

This didn’t work so well with Daniel.

“You’re in charge while I take a shower, Daniel.  Just DO NOT wake up the baby, and do NOT play in the bathroom.”

Daniel became quite giddy, “ME!  Me in charge!?  Me in charge.”

I thought it was cute that he was so excited to finally have a turn at being in charge.

As it turned out, being ‘in charge’ meant a very different thing to Daniel.  He didn’t take it to mean “tell on your brothers and keep everyone out of trouble,” as Joshua and Caleb rightly interpret it.  Instead, he interpreted it to mean, “I’m in charge, so I can do anything in the world that I want to do.”

This little boy became absolutely drunk with power!!

I got out of the shower to discover a trail of destruction and mayhem that went from his room all the way through the house.  Thankfully, he did leave the sleeping baby alone.

If I have taught them nothing else, I have at least taught them that waking a sleeping baby is the absolute worst possible thing that you can do.

I’m sure you’re dying to know what exactly Daniel did.  I’m sorry to tell you that this was a few weeks ago, so I don’t actually remember it all.  It is important to block out unpleasant memories. I’m pretty sure there were marker drawings on the dining room table, orange juice in the kitchen floor, and a completely unraveled roll of toilet paper, as well as random overturned laundry hampers and emptied out kitchen cabinets.

After expressing my outrage to my little delinquent, he looked at me with those beautiful wide eyes of his and said, “Me in charge. Me not in charge now?”

“No, Daniel, listen carefully.  You ARE NOT IN CHARGE ANYMORE, and that wasn’t what I meant, and you will never be in charge again.  Mommy’s rules. Mommy is always in charge.”

“Oh,” he said, and that was that, as he helped me clean up the mess.  And since this is Daniel we are talking about, yes, he actually did help.