The other day a friend on Facebook posted this: "Are you the worst mother ever? Prove it. I would like to hear the best reasons for being called the worst mother (father) ever. I will send a cake or madeleines or brownies of the worst mother's (father's) choice to the winner. Yes. Yes it has been that kind of evening."
There were lots of great stories and some that scared me (mostly the mouthy teenager ones, since I'm not there yet). In general, I don't get told I'm the worst mother - I just get "You're mean!" or "You're not fair!" I guess that's when I know I've done something right, right?
My number 1 daughter (meaning the first, not the favorite - they are all my most and least favorites at any given time), has really been putting me to the test lately. She has been super surly, sassy, and mean to everyone around the house. I know it's hard on her having sisters who are significantly younger - with the ability gaps and naps they still take, there are times that just aren't fun for her. I was having a talk with her about it recently - how she needs to cut her 3 year old sister some slack, that she just doesn't understand things at the same level as a 9 year old. And I told her that she needs to stop being so cruel to her sister. Of course, Violet picked up on this word immediately, so she's going around telling Lorelei not to be cruel or she says to me that Lorelei is cruel to her sometimes. That just makes Lorelei angrier, so she says/does more mean things. And so the cycle goes.
Punishing always leads to fun times. We're on day two of a two day grounding from the computer, so at 7:45 this morning she was moaning, "I'M BORED." Just love hearing that. Yesterday I told her that she could do some chores if she was bored, "What if I don't WANT to do chores?" Deep breath. "Then don't tell me you're bored."
A couple of days ago my sister told me about an email exchange between Lorelei and my niece. Niece asked Lorelei what she does when she's bored. Answer: "Complain." Niece replied, "Okay, I'll try that next time." So my lovely daughter is spreading the joy of surly throughout the family.
That stock of wine that I was talking about a couple of posts go, just in case one of you stops by - well, it's getting smaller and smaller. So, if you're gonna stop by please bring a bottle.
Looking Back at 2023: A Year of Hope
3 months ago
So my kids always heard the same thing from me when they complained of being bored, which is "Only boring people get bored." Honestly, I'm not sure if they really understand what it meant or if they stopped complaining of being bored simply because they were tired of hearing me say it. :)
ReplyDelete- Heidi