Parenting Never Ends

(sometime after school today...)
Me - "Why are your new boots so scratched up and worn?"
'Lil Miss - (blank stare)  

   It seems like only yesterday I had the same answer for the simplest of questions. After being asked why I hit my brother, or wedged a large metal screw under my father's tire, etc., the answer was the same. "Deer in headlights!", my older brother always says.  

   I'll pass right by the "Why" question, as it insults any parent to look for a good reason behind what any child does. It's more about shortening the time it takes to get past the, "Wha, wha, whe, WHY!?!?" Somehow through the frustration, we as parents need to simplify the message and get it through to the blank stare that is typically NOT looking you in the eye.

   That's the question isn't it. How do you handle all that? Since parenting never ends, nor does this molding and shaping. Teaching why we take care of things, and how we can get used items if the child would prefer to not have to take care of the new. It is also worth noting that I've seen grown-ups act this way toward things they should be taking care of, so it really, TRULY, never ends.

J.