“My teacher said I only have one dollar left for ice cream,” Isabelle told me about 15 minutes before we needed to leave for school.
“Do you have money for today?” I asked.
“Yes, but that’s it.”
“I can write you a check to replenish your ice cream account,” I tell her. “Let’s brush your teeth first. Then I’ll look at the calendar to see how many Fridays are left in the school year so I will know how much money to send.”
“Okay,” she replied.
“Please put your chocolate milk cup in the sink before we brush your teeth,” I reminded her.
As she walked across the kitchen to place her cup in the sink, I realized Isabelle has a selective memory. She remembered something of importance to her — the fact there was only a dollar left in her ice cream account at school — but neglected to remember to put her cup in the sink. We ask her to bring her dirty dishes to the sink after every meal. Nearly every day she needs to be reminded of this. But the ice cream money running low? THAT she remembers!
Raising Literate Humans 
Don’t we all do this? We remember the good stuff, but the annoying, tedious, I-don’t-wanna-do-it stuff gets forgotten. Or…maybe it’s just me! š
I remember it all. Maybe it’s time to let some of it fall by the wayside!
Yes, it’s time. š
Ah, the priorities of life. Ice cream definitely trumps dirty dishes, every time. Thanks for sharing that little moment!
Aren’t six year olds and their teflon memories interesting? The basics that we spend so much time drilling into them (in the hopes of eventually producing something that approximates civilized behavior!) never seem to stick, but the ice cream fund, or the exact color, size and shape of the toy that they must have RIGHT NOW (but cannot remember where they last saw) sticks right in the front of their brains!
“Teflon Memories”
Love that term!
I felt as though I were reading about my two daughters! It is nice to know that I am not alone.
And thanks for YOUR comment. Apparently, many of us are in this together!
I’m sort of the same way. My strategy for remembering things less interesting/appealing to me is to send myself an email. Isabelle is a little young for my strategy, and it doesn’t really help with home chores, which I can benignly ignore even when they stare me in the face.
Selective Memories, love how that works.
Priorities!! Lol. Glad Isabelle got her ice cream money!
I do the same thing! And so do my students!
There’s got to be some type of brain research that can explain this type of “selective memory.” This is a story all parents can relate to!
If you find it, lmk. I’d love to understand it!
Ha! Great story and love the use of capital letters at the end.
Sorry, Stacey. Isabelle makes perfect sense to me!