Monday, July 19

Just call me Marshmallow

I have a problem. I'm sure I'm not alone, but it still seems so wrong. But, my friends, to you I will bare my soul.

I have a 9 year old son. He's a great kid, super smart (of course!), and super cute. But sometimes, like any 9 year old boy, he does things he shouldn't do. Mostly this involves talking back to his parents. Yes, he does other naughty things, but the talking back really grates on my nerves! And it usually earns him a chance to be grounded-- ie: no friends, no video games, no computer games, etc. My son decided to earn this opportunity this last weekend, just for shits and giggles.

The problem with the timing of this punishment is that I was in charge of a large portion of volunteers for a Criterium bike race happening in our neighborhood the next day. That means that I was at the race all day, plus my husband was threatened with his own punishment if he didn't take a shift to volunteer during the race. It was alot of work!

Why is this a problem with grounding my son, you ask? Because normally he would be restricted to our house. We brought him to the race (because he's not quite ready to stay at home alone) and, since it was 100 degrees, bought an icey treat. (His sister got one, too.) Some punishment!

And today, Monday, Mommy had to put a floral arrangement together and deliver it. Which means the kiddos were obligated to go with me. Add on top of that we woke up and had no milk. (I think some milk goblin drank the last of it while we all slept.) So breakfast was nearly non-existent. We tend to eat cereal and I have to have my coffee in the morning, WITH milk. Since my son has been good, doing his chores and acting all innocent and sweet (and I REALLY needed my morning latte!), I took them to Starbucks and got a drink and donut.

I'm so awful!! What kind of punishment is it that you get treats and special stuff? I don't think I'm cut out for grounding my kids. I have a terrible short-term memory. (Thank you, chemo!) Plus I just don't do well once the kids start acting all sweet. I tend to have endless talks with them about feelings and how they have a choice on how they react to situations. You know, all mushy mushy. What I really need to start doing is being "the hammer" like my father. I had a healthy fear of him as a kid, and actually still do when he gets upset. Not that he ever did anything he shouldn't have, but he was a military man, and had a bit of a temper. As do I, which may explain why I punish first, then feel bad and ease up after the kids bat their eyes at me.

God, I hope my kids turn out to be good people! I hope I'm not raising a couple of manipulative creatures, able to turn any situation to their advantage. That would work great, if I wanted them to grow up to be Wall Street brokers. I'd rather they become doctors, or join the Peace Corps. Although one would be much cheaper for me than the other.

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