Friday, September 28, 2007

Mother of the Year, I am not

I would love to say that I go through my days cleaning, cooking, and teaching with a smile on my face. My quiet and gentle spirit always winning out. My kids knowing that their mom has undending patience and understanding.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are times that I lose my temper. I get angry, frustrated, and sometimes I lose it. I yell.

So the kids were talking the other day and they revealed to me that they have talked about their plan for when I get mad. I had not known they had a plan until then.

They actually have two plans. If we are in the car when I am angry, they all stop talking. No noise. At all. If we are at home they listen until I am done "talking" to them, and then they quietly sneak away to their rooms until I calm down.

I thought these were pretty wise plans. Giving me peace and quiet calms me down faster than anything. So then I asked what their plan was for when Knight is mad. They don't have one. That is how little he gets mad.

So the other day I got really upset. I had been having a bad week anyway, but this was the final straw. Nothing that was totally devestating, but completely irritating. They were supposed to be working on school and they were fooling around. I was trying to do the dishes, but kept having to go back into the living room and tell them to work. Then they spilled a full cup of hot chocolate in the livign room. On the carpet. They are not supposed to eat or drink in the living room.

So I lost it. Even more than normal. So, the plans took effect and the kids disappeared. I started to calm down. Then to my great shame they gave me card. It was filled with lines like..."turn that frown upside down", "maybe if you wore makeup you wouldn't look so angry", and "Don't worry, be happy".

So, I will not be winning the Mother of the Year award, but at least my kids take it with stride.

4 comments:

Leeann said...

I love the "if you wore make-up you wouldn't look so mad" line. That is priceless!

mandaroo63 said...

What great kids you have. Don't be so hard on yourself. They are obviously learning some valuable skills from you, though you may not see it in the heat of it. That make up line got me too! LOL! And, I love your blog headline picture! They look like a lot of fun! Thanks for coming by my blog and the nice comment.

Jess said...

I just informed my kids of MY plan for letting them know when I was about to loose it in the car. "If I turn the music up REALLY LOUD that means I'm about to blow up and we should all just try and listen to the music. Get it??" They all nodded and one said, "Good thing our music is about God. THAT should help." Priceless...

KarenW said...

Everyone has bad days. I don't think I'll ever get Mother of the Year either. I keep telling my kids that I'm trying for "Meanest Mom of the Year" and since I didn't get it last year, I have to try harder this year. :) Don't feel badly, you're not alone!