Friday, January 15, 2010

Parenting Keeps you Humble

(minus 1 kid)
There's nothing like a bunch of kids to help you remember your lowly place in the world.

You can be going along in life, feeling mighty fine about yourself.
You've lost that last 5 pounds.
You've read your scriptures every day for a week.
You've finally cleaned out that closet that has been nagging at you.

Then....


Your four year old has a major meltdown in the grocery store. And you happen to be at the grocery store that is the frequent haunt of the winter visitors in your town.  And it's winter. And they give you dirty looks.

You are sitting in a row, with your large family, in a single's branch, where your husband happens to be the branch president. It's the quietest place on earth during the Sacrament.  And your two year old starts making weird noises with his mouth and voice and you can't  get him to stop because the rest of the kids are giggling and snorting.

Your kids come home from their semi-annual dentist checkups and between all of them, they have about 15 cavities.

You forget to set the parking brake on the car and the car rolls backward and accidently runs over your three year old. Miracle of miracles, he isn't hurt badly.

Your kid complains of a stomach ache and not feeling good for the 500th time in the morning, and you allow him/her to stay home, but are very annoyed.  When you finally take the kid to the doctor later that day you find out he/she has a massive case of strep throat.

The schoolteacher/primary teacher calls to report your less-than-stellar behavior of your child in school/Primary.

The well-meaning person in the ward sees fit to call you to report that they have seen your child coming out of an R-rated movie/making out with a person of the opposite sex in the bushes/hanging out with a "questionable" people/not attending their church classes/ditching school/"insert your own scenario here"/because they felt like you ought to know.

The teenage girl child walks out wearing something immodest, and the Mormon missionaries are sitting in your family room.

Your teenager makes snide remarks which makes you feel like you are about to win the "Worst Parent of the Century Award."
I have the remedy for all this......

It's Grandchildren.....


MWAHAHAHAHAHAH....

My mom has been laughing for over 30 years......

(these incidents may or may not be true)

11 comments:

linda crandall said...

Oh I cant wait!

Momza said...

This is great! So true! Oh my...been there, done that--except for the car-running-over-the-child.
It's so true!
And now, o-my-goodness! I LOVE being a Granma!! And YOU make it all look so easy, Marilyn! Thanks for sharing!

Lisa said...

Right now I am in the first category, I hope I let all my kids live long enough for me to be in the second! :)

Amy said...

Wow, the majority of this post made me feel terrible for being such a pain in the butt. *Note: I was NOT the teenage girl getting ratted on. I was the good girl who never got caught. ;)
Then the rest of this post made me laugh, then made me think... oh crap, she means vengeance on me too!!!

Patrice said...

I've had those things happen to me, and I totally become the "bad mom!" How do we keep them from throwing us for a loop?

GGMA said...

He he he. Just remember my old saying, "What goes around, comes around." He he he.

Joy For Your Journey said...

That was too funny!--except running over the three year old. We left a baby in her carrier on the front porch though as we started to drive away. And my kids always try to parent me. Love that! But you are right abut grandkids. My daughter told me she understands so much more now that she is a mother. All those times she thought we were so strict and mean--we were just trying to protect her. Imagine that!!:-)

jen said...

Oh dear that picture. Not one of my finer moments. And sadly many of the naughtiness listed here has been because of...ahem...me (shhhhhhhhh). I'm so in for it. But still enjoying the ride.

Granny J said...

First I have apologized and asked for forgiveness from my mom and then we laugh about "what goes around comes around!" Our oldest son gave his 5 and 3 yr. olds BB guns for Christmas. I reminded him of the price of a back car window...., and the pain of asking a brother to "shoot me" (in the shin)...yep....Bwah-hahaha!

Joyce A said...

Oh, my goodness, you and Terry look so young in the pic. Oh, what wonderful memories. Yes, there are trying moments, but the good ones so far outweigh the bad ones. I love being a grandma, too. It's great!

Unknown said...

i also needed this today..thanks for your honesty. More Mormon mommies need to be real so the rest of us don't get discouraged.

My kids better not do any of these things to me because my challenges have all already been dumped in my lap.

I know it is evil, but I hope that all of my friends with the perfect marriages, perfect mental states, perfect homes, and perfect lives will be the ones with the challenging teenagers. Cause I am really really really gonna deserve a break by then.