Here Coyote, Coyote, Coyote...

Have you ever seen a real coyote? Do you ever hear them howling off in the distance? They love to gather in the country and call at night so that you can hear them for miles. I don't know much about coyotes, but they have been quite the talk at our little farm lately. And I'm not talking about the coyotes that you hear howling at night, I am talking about the coyotes that like to visit out house and say hello. The kind of coyotes that drive in a truck and follow you around no matter where you go ~ restaurants, Wal-Mart, for a drive, where ever. The kind of coyotes that my youngest daughter never, ever wants to meet!

This all started a few months ago, and I cannot even tell you how it got started, but it did. I was talking to someone about coyotes one day and my little one started screaming in the backseat "NO I don't want the coyotes to come to my house! NO! NO! NO!" So after assuring her that there were no coyotes that would visit our house, she calmed down. I didn't think much about it until the coyotes were brought up in conversation again and she literally flipped out about it! Hmm... I thought to myself.... this could work to my benefit. The child that is always into everything, the child that is constantly getting in trouble, the child that is the strongest minded little thing I have ever seen, the child that had NO fear was actually afraid of something.... coyotes!

Let me state I would never intentionally scare my daughter to be mean. I am not the type of parent who wants to terrify my child so much that they have nightmares, or that frightens them for life over a fear they have. I think that is mean for parents to do such a thing. But, I realized that I could work up this coyote theory to my benefit just an eensy weensy tad bit (really, just a little bit).

I cannot recall if it was me or big sister who proposed the idea one day. My little one was on her non-wanting-to-see-the-coyotes kick and it was suggested they could visit out house and pay her a visit if she didn't do what she was told. Then came a sight for sore eyes ~ the little one who is so stubborn did exactly what she was told without even a hint or argument. I, for one, was in shock and not sure what to think. So then a few days later, she was in trouble for something else and the coyote theory was mentioned again. She would get the privilege of meeting Mr. & Mrs. Coyote if she did not behave. Little Miss Independent straightened right up and did exactly as she should have when the coyotes were mentioned! So by this time, I have it all figured out. Let's use the theory if and ONLY IF we really need her to behave or to get her to instantly snap out of her terrible moments. But I made a very firm point to my oldest daughter and to myself, we are not to overuse this theory because that would be diving into territory that I do not want to enter. The territory that would give my little girl fears, nightmares, and terrors for life. I refuse to scare her to death so that she is scarred for life. But as time went on, I found myself using the coyote theory just a little bit more, but only when I really needed it...

I am grateful to have the job that I do and then come home every night to my lovely children. But by the time bedtime rolls around, I'm usually ready for them to go to sleep and give me a few moments of quiet time. So just a few weeks ago I took a vacation week from work for our fair. I had the kids with me 24/7 that week with no break. So when I go from being with them at night to all the time with no breaks, my mind might be a little boggled. Don't get me wrong; I love my girls dearly, but after 8 days straight with my little angels, I was ready to get back into a routine! So back to the vacation week, most days I was there anywhere from 10 - 14 hours per day. And that is hard on little kids, heck it was hard on me! But it's like that every year and I know what to expect each year. I will admit my littlest one was a trooper this year and I was really proud of how she behaved all week. She could have been alot worse than she was! I don't know who was more tired at the end of the week ~ me or the kids! Now my little one did have her moments from time to time so that's when the coyote theory came into play...

Not only did the coyotes know where we live, but I also had a direct phone number for the coyotes that I could call anytime that I needed them to come and say hi to my Little Miss. Oh, and get this - the coyotes even have texting too! They have moved up in the world of technology, let me tell you. So once my little one figured out I had the coyote's phone number, I had the key then! All I would have to do is flip open my phone and "call" the coyotes and she would start on her "NO NO NO I don't want the coyotes to come" kick. So then she would be told to be a good girl and she would normally do just that. Later in the week, the coyote theory started to weaken since I called the coyotes a thousand times dialed up the coyotes phone number a time or two! Funny how the coyotes would be eating at the next food stand, or at the end of the barn where we were, or just a few feet away each time I needed them. They were always right there and ready to meet my youngest anytime!

Then one day my reverse psychology theory took a turn. She actually told me she wanted to meet the coyotes. Hmmm.... fast thinking! Ok, so I spotted a blue Ford truck that is always at the fair and told her that they were sitting in their truck and waiting to see her. So we started to take a walk and a few steps later, she planted her feet on the ground like concrete permanently stuck. She decided she no longer wanted to meet them, especially when she saw the cage in the back of the truck that they hauled humans in. Nope, she didn't want to test out that cage at all!

I hope you have a sense of humor if you are reading this. It's really not as bad as it sounds. It started out as an innocent theory, but the more people that knew about it, the more it grew. And the more big sis felt like she had the right to call the coyotes too because she was privileged enough to get the number too! Yep, direct from the coyotes themselves. She would even text them on occasion to find out their location. Ha ha! So anyway, we made it through the long week and never did have to encounter the coyotes. And I knew by the end of the long hellacious drawn out week, the coyote theory needed to be nipped in the bud and quickly.

So we didn't hear much from the coyotes until the next week. All of a sudden, my little one decided she would put herself in contact with the coyotes all on her very own! She informed her uncle that if he didn't do as she said, she would call the coyotes and have them come visit him! I wasn't there when she said it, but I rolled on the floor in laughter when I heard about it. Just think... the very thing she has been terrified of for months is now the exact thing she is going to call and scare someone else with. Kids are sometimes smarter than we realize, and we don't give them enough credit at times.

We are now back to rarely using this coyote theory. But if I need to get my daughter's attention immediately, it works! The coyotes are just a phonecall away and have informed me that if I ever need them to visit my daughter, just to let them know. They are always close to the vicinity where we are, whether that be home, school, Wally World, in the car, Grandma's house, where ever. They like to keep a watch on my daughter and make sure she is walking the straight and narrow! And if she steps off the path, they would love to greet her sometime.

Someone reading this by now probably thinks I am terrible, and that isn't the case, I promise! My little one does know that coyotes will not hurt her, they just want to say hello and tell her to be a good little girl. That's all. I have reassured her the coyotes that follow us around are not mean. So will this coyote theory last forever? No. Will it come back to bite me in the butt someday down the road? Probably. Will we always remember how the coyotes would visit follow us around and talk to us on the phone? Yes. Will my daughter hold this over my head someday? I'm sure she will. Does it give us something to laugh about in current day? Yes. Will it be something we remember for years and look back and laugh on it? Always. Even though it's not the nicest theory in the world, it makes for great conversation and funny memories that the kids will someday look back and laugh about. Surely my little one will realize before too long that I can always talk to the coyotes on the phone, or find out they are close by, but we have never actually met them. The only thing that worries me is someday when we go to the zoo, and there are real coyotes there. My daughter will probably beat me to the exit gate running 190 MPH to get out of there!

We all have something that we do or say that helps to make our kids mind just a little better. All parents have used reverse psychology at one time or another. And if you haven't, how boring! You have to mix life up a little, and add a little fun from time to time. Otherwise your kids will grow up and be like bumps on a log. Kids are only little once, have fun with them while you can. Teach them to the best of your ability and don't feel bad if you have ever used a "coyote theory" on your kids. We are all humans and it happens! Now hopefully no coyotes will be paying a visit to our house tonight... HOWLLLLLLLL!!!!