Are You a Curmudgeon?
I once heard a story about a mom who went to the kitchen to get a drink of water, only to find that the kids had taken the liquid dish soap and squirted it all over the floor. They had removed their shoes and were sliding back and forth like it was an ice rink. They were laughing and having a blast!! Lots of fun! UNTIL they saw her there in the doorway. They stopped in their tracks, looking at each other. TERRIFIED as they waited to see what her response would be.
So, there she stood with her hands on her hips observing the situation and trying to decide what to do. She saw their delight. She heard their laughter. But…she also saw what they had done.
She decided that it looked like so much fun that she took off her shoes and slid across the floor in her socks. She threw her head back in laughter. She was really enjoying herself. The kids couldn’t believe it! Then…suddenly…she stopped.
She looked them straight in the eyes and said, “That was fun! Now LET’S clean this up.”
I’m pretty sure she told them not to do it again, but she understood how fun it was and it was not EVIL or SINFUL what they were doing. It was not DEFIANT. They didn’t know. So she enjoyed the moment but let them know that there were consequences to their decisions. BUT she helped them clean it up. That way they stayed on task.
Isn’t that exactly how God is with us? He enjoys us and yet He gently guides us back to Truth. He tells us the rules and then He guides us into following the rules. The blessing comes in the obeying. For our kids and for us.
It’s so much more fun to embrace and enjoy life and to appreciate the differences of others, than to be a curmudgeon. You and your child/children are each very different. Choose to enjoy the differences. It is most definitely a choice. It probably won’t come naturally.
And yet…you still have to be the Mom…the adult…in the relationship. Yes, of course, the adult makes rules and they also keep them. But…don’t forget to remember that the child-like things they do are normal. They are learning how things work and what is acceptable and what is not. They are experimenting.
They are also teaching us to lighten up a bit. And that, my dear sweet mom friend, is a good thing! A very good thing!
Hope this helps…
Love it Pam! Is it wrong to secretly hope my kids do this, so I can try it out?! Haha! Great wisdom here. Thanks!
Comment by Emily
Nope. Not wrong at all, Emily Forsyth. In fact, why not be the instigator? I can actually picture you doing that! 🙂
Comment by Pam Taylor
One day many years ago, when I was not very old (I think pre-school), the Choma children and I decided to help my mother by washing the kitchen floor for her. I think it was a really important job for her because she was always talking about it.
We got out the mop and the bucket and began the job. She was taking a Sunday afternoon nap, one of her favorite things to do. We used lots of water. Guess she had completed washing the floor not to long prior to taking the nap, and no one noticed. Needless-to-say, when she got up she was not happy. Not only had no one noticed, but she caught us in the middle of screwing up her good work.
I still do not like to mop floors. Luckily, I have had two husbands who were/are pretty good at it. I think washing floors in men’s work.
Comment by Ellen
Ellen, I love reading the stories you share. I can picture your Mom when she discovered the floor she finally got scrubbed was “tweaked” (oops!) by her sweet daughter meaning to help. YIKES!!! Fun that you don’t have to now mop floors at all! YAY!
Comment by Pam Taylor