Case in point. I hated school mornings growing up. It was stressful, busy, and full of little power struggles and blow outs, especially with my dad. The most famous of these would be the daily arguement over showering - was it necessary everyday? did they have to be longer than 5 minutes? This was inevitably folllowed by: Hurry, the bus is here! You don't have time for _________! (Fill in the blank with whatever we were in the process of doing as the bus pulled into the yard).
You get the picture.
Fast forward 18 years or so. Me and my own kids now getting ready to get out the door and catch the bus. Kids being kids and taking their sweet time in the early morning. Me nagging and pushing, my voice getting a little higher and louder each time.
"No, you don't have time to eat anymore, we have to go!"
"Get your shoes on - RIGHT NOW!"
"I'm going to the van and if you're not there with me you're in trouble!"
Sound familiar?
Only my kids get the added pleasure of having my dad right there along with me. Now Dad, don't get me wrong, I appreciate you jumping in and helping out. It's too hard to do it alone. But I'm pretty sure stereo sound nagging is not increasing their desire to move faster. And I'm guilty too.
Gotta find a new way to motivate the morning routine. Especially on Friday. I'd like to say I should cut them a bit more slack, but the bus leaves the same time each day, no matter if they make it or not. And since I'm not driving them into town every day, the natural consequence thing loses its zing.
Back to seeing your parents in yourself. It's not a bad thing. It's a good motivation. And even though I like some of the things I see, there are things I did not like growing up and this experience is definitely helping me remember them and commit to breaking the cycle. Now I just have to decide which things are worth the battle...
No comments:
Post a Comment