Brian was home sick from school today. He has the stomach bug thing - not fun. But as stomach things go - not too bad. He got sick when he first got up and then felt better. He actually cried because I wouldn't let him go to school. Whose kid is this? Then he said he was fine and asked for some lunch. He had to really plead and beg to get the soup - I didn't think he was ready. He had some chicken and stars soup which only made a brief visit in his belly. I am not sure it even ever made it all the way to his belly. He then says, "Mom maybe I shouldn't eat anything for a while." Do you think so? I had only told him this about 20 zillion times!
But, sometimes, I feel that he is old enough to learn from his mistakes once in a while. He fights me on wearing a coat and then about zippering it! It is cold in December in NJ! But then I think, he will be cold and I bet tomorrow the coat will be on and zippered. Well, the next day the coat was on and zippered. He got out of the car and into line. I waited until he walked by me into the school so I could wave to him one last time. As he waved, I noticed that his coat was unzipped. I was talking with my friend Wendy and she told me that I couldn't be mad at Brian. I did tell him to wear his coat and zipper it - but I never said how long he had to keep it that way. So, next time I have to say, "Brian coat on and zippered and keep it that way until after you get into your classroom!"
On day three he finally got it right and went into the building with his coat zippered. I have no idea if it was unzipped in the hallway or the classroom, though. I can just see him unzipping his coat in the hallway - a smirk painted on his face - knowing he had outsmarted his mom! I will get him next time! (evil cackle)
Sometimes, it just isn't worth the argument. Pick you battles I always say. Kind of like snow boots in July that they dug out of the back of the closet. Halloween costumes in February. Way too many sprinkles on the cookies. Streaks on the windows that they 'helped' to clean. Too much salt on their dinner because they can do it! Shoes on the wrong feet and shirts on backwards. Not wearing underwear. Does it really matter and does it put them in danger of being hurt? If no, then I say let them do it.
Yeah, I know, you might say no coat in December might be harming him. But, I figure it could be worse, he could be asking for shorts! But it was only for one day and he did learn his lesson. Plus, for a short while, I was a biology major, and no matter what your Mom tells you - You cannot get sick from the cold or even from going out into the snow with wet hair. You can only get sick from germs! We do call having a cough, stuffy nose, and fever a cold. Maybe that is where the idea came from! There it goes - my brain is actually working again! Yipee!
But even when they do get a cold and if you insist that your Mom was right- it is maybe two or three days at the most that I have to deal with them. The fight about the coat will drag on all winter! I will take the few days of them lying on the couch and not messing up my house or fighting with each other over arguing all winter! I mean resting up and being pampered to feel better soon over arguing all winter.
So, by mid-afternoon he tries the food thing again. I ask him to sip a little water first. He manages to keep it down, but his face tells me that he will not be asking for food again any time soon. He hasn't moved from the couch all day - except to visit the bathroom. He says, "Mom you haven't fed me all day!" Oh, what a bad Mom I am! I bet I am up for worst mother of the year! Not feeding my kid who has the stomach bug! Shame on me! Then he gets a really sad face and I am expecting him to say that he has to get sick again. Then he says, "Mom, I didn't get to run at all today. Not even a little. Not even one run!"
I had to laugh at this one. As an adult, I almost look forward to being mildly ill. It is a free pass from doing laundry, making dinner, and cleaning the house for the day. It is a day to relax and lounge around and catch up on the Soaps you used to have time for. To a kid, being sick is torture. They don't have the words 'rest and relaxation' in their vocabularies! He did more whining today about not being about to do things because he didn't feel good, than he did about not feeling good.
People always say, "If I just had a little bit of the energy my kid has...!" You never hear kids saying, "If I could just rest up a little like Dad...!" I would love to run and skip and act like I had jumping beans in my pants for no other reason than I can. I love toddlers - they will spin and spin in circles until they fall down laughing. And then get up and do it again. And again. And again! No reason, just because.
I think most adults could learn something from this. Just once in a while do something just because you can. Take an early day to pick your kids up from school. Have ice cream for dinner. Bring home flowers for no special occasion. Finger paint with the kids. Take the long way to work. Eat popcorn with your toes. Crawl around with the baby. Make a snow angel. Snuggle up and read a good book as a family. Play dress up with the kids. Do a good deed. Call a friend you've lost touch with. Sit on the sidewalk and watch ants all day. Spin around in circles until you can't stand up - it really is fun! Especially with kids who are laughing so hard at you that they cannot stand up!
No comments:
Post a Comment