Then this weekend when Juliet had some of her favorite people around her for her birthday party, she clammed up and refused to thank them for their extremely generous gifts... or for just showing up, which, let's face it, always leaves me feeling a scoosh on the gracious side. "At wits end" was a phrase repeating itself in my mind until I finally took the deep breath that apparently broke the camels back.
I can't make my children feel grateful. If they feel like they deserve what they have coming to them, then, chances are, they probably do. And once again, I can't effect all that comes to them. Karma has a way of teaching long, hard lessons to children and I can hardly bear the pain when I see them experience it. What I can do, at least for now, is reach higher than they can.
So, I took the gifts that she was not thankful for and I put them up high(Sorry Karma, I'd like to drive this time). I got out the appropriate number of "Thank You" cards and I wrote on a separate sheet of paper, "Thank you for coming to my Birthday Party. Love Juliet," and she was to copy those words to the cards before she could have the gifts. Feeble attempt, I realize.
The beautiful thing about five year olds, is that they are just learning to write. This job took her three consecutive days to complete and it was all or nothing. One card did not equal one gift because you are either grateful or you fake it, you don't choose who to be grateful to. I think one of the greatest challenges for parents is making sure that a worthy lesson is taught within a discipline. I lose sleep over it at times. I think this one could have been better, but it served it's purpose eventually. On day two Juliet was half finished when she sighed and said, "I wish I wasn't snotty at the party." And THAT deep sigh was, no doubt, heard across across the universe.
****** I found these quotes on various websites, so their validity is in question, always ******
Your children need your presence more than your presents. ~Jesse Jackson
If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent. ~Bette Davis
Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them. ~Oscar Wilde
Never raise your hand to your kids. It leaves your groin unprotected. ~Red Buttons
There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb
There may be some doubt as to who are the best people to have charge of children, but there can be no doubt that parents are the worst. ~George Bernard Shaw
Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, has instilled within each of us a powerful biological instinct to reproduce; this is her way of assuring that the human race, come what may, will never have any disposable income. ~Dave Barry
The child supplies the power but the parents have to do the steering. ~Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care
Having babies is fun, but babies grow up into people. ~M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter, "The Price of Tomato Juice"
I love to play hide and seek with my kid, but some days my goal is to find a hiding place where he can't find me until after high school. ~Author Unknown
As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it, or leave it. ~Buddy Hackett
No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. ~Bill Cosby, Fatherhood, 1986
Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell, the name will carry. ~Bill Cosby
Parents are not interested in justice; they are interested in quiet. ~Bill Cosby
A child, like your stomach, doesn't need all you can afford to give it. ~Frank A. Clark
The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced, you are unemployed. ~Author Unknown
Great quotes, especially Oscar Wilde
ReplyDelete