Today I found a clearing on the carpet in the family room and got inspired to vacuum. Since it was still early, the kids hadn't had the chance to scatter too many toys yet, so I hurried to pick up what was already there before more could join the ranks. I declared my intention to vacuum, and shortly thereafter the kids decided to parade around the family room and dining room with their bowls of dry cheerios. When they do this, several cheerios inevitably fall on the floor, eventually making a long trail from one room to the other. I asked them to sit down until I could finish vacuuming. Danielle complied, but Tyler continued the march. After asking him a couple more times, and growing more impatient with each request, I commanded him to sit down. He did so but tossed in a smart reply, too. (He has been getting mouthy lately!) Frustrated, I reached out to grab his arm (to get his attention, of course) and was spouting something about showing a little respect. Well, as I reached for him, I bumped him just the right way and his entire bowl flipped into the air, spreading cheerios all over the couch, chair, and floor. I made a much bigger mess than he would have.
After vacuuming and cooling off a little, I thought I would try to make a lesson out of this for Tyler. My point was SUPPOSED to be that being angry doesn't do anything except make a bigger mess out of things. I apologized to Tyler for losing my temper and asked him to forgive me. Then I attempted to turn this into a life lesson:
"Tyler, I got angry, didn't I? What happened when I got angry?" Now, I was looking for the answer "You made a big mess."
Instead I got: "You got really red, Mom."
2 comments:
That is just too funny. Leave it to a kid to keep you humble!
Thanks for my morning laugh!
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