Slacker Mom Picks up the Slack
We have an adolescent at our house. Having majored in elementary education with an emphasis on middle schoolers, I am an expert on adolescent behavior. HA! But having taught middle schoolers way back in the 90s, I am recognizing many of the classic symptoms...
--cares more about what she wears than putting what she wears in the laundry chute
--cheap little toys, garage sale trinkets, and sale clothes are no longer met with an enthusiastic "thanks Mom!!"
--toys are replaced with technology
--anything under $10 is not even worth it
--hello, mood swings!
--stays up later (and wakes up later) than anyone in the house
--musical tastes are becoming independent of mom and dad's
--mom and dad are moving into the "don't embarrass me" tier
--being by oneself in the privacy of one's room is of utmost importance
--drama at school is almost a daily norm
--time spent preparing to go anywhere is disproportionately larger than the total time spent by the other people in the house, combined
--childlike one minute, mature as heck the next
--at times very scatter-brained
--smart, fun, funny, and driven! (At least the one at our house is! Thank God!)
Our eldest is a perfectionist. She works hard in school and sports (not quite as hard at home as I would like, but we can't have everything), she dresses neatly and takes great care in her appearance, and she tackles any project with depth and precision. She is very responsible (when she's not being downright silly!) and has a sharp memory to aid her aging mother. Normally I can rely on her to be ready for school with no problem, but lately she's been slipping. True to her adolescent status, she misplaced her choir music TWO MORNINGS IN A ROW and ran out to the bus, in a tizzy about how in trouble she was going to be with her teacher!!
Two nights ago our eldest walks up to me, as I was getting ready for bed, and announces, "Can you wake me up early Mom? I want to find that soldier costume. I need it for my Sparta project tomorrow." TOMORROW. Nice.
Sure enough, I couldn't find the soldier costume in my basement stash yesterday morning. I looked in several boxes and then it occurred to me that it was probably still over at church from last Easter, when Paige wore it for a Passion skit. I promised Ally that I would get the costume (as I was planning to set up the Sunday School room anyway) and bring it to school when I picked up Wynne from preschool.
Every month we change over the theme at Sunday School, so when I wasn't looking for a soldier costume I was busy setting up for the next lesson on Moses and the Exodus. Ten plagues later, I grabbed a gold tunic and drove back home, praying that I would be able to find the soldier costume in the house this time around. "God, please just reveal where the breastplate is. I can always make her a helmet, but the breastplate is the whole costume!"
Sometimes God decides to answer our prayers right away. I found a new box to open, and there it was! The breastplate in all of its plastic glory!! I grabbed Wynne's fireman hat and ran upstairs to make a Spartan helmet. Thankfully, I had phoned the school and told the secretary that I would be a little late in picking up Wynne because I had an important Mom assignment to complete. I had promised Ally a Spartan costume and by golly, I was going to give her a Spartan costume!!
Carpe Ductum. Sieze the duct tape! (And yes, I took time to take a picture because one day, I want my kids to remember that their mother actually cares about them!!)
I ran up to the kids' rooms...no feathers to be found, except for two pink boas. No time for hot glue - tin foil and rubber cement, to the rescue!
Ally called home later that day to thank me. "It looked really awesome, Mom!"
Mission Accomplished. For Thursday.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.--Matthew 6:34
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.--Psalm 145:18
--cares more about what she wears than putting what she wears in the laundry chute
--cheap little toys, garage sale trinkets, and sale clothes are no longer met with an enthusiastic "thanks Mom!!"
--toys are replaced with technology
--anything under $10 is not even worth it
--hello, mood swings!
--stays up later (and wakes up later) than anyone in the house
--musical tastes are becoming independent of mom and dad's
--mom and dad are moving into the "don't embarrass me" tier
--being by oneself in the privacy of one's room is of utmost importance
--drama at school is almost a daily norm
--time spent preparing to go anywhere is disproportionately larger than the total time spent by the other people in the house, combined
--childlike one minute, mature as heck the next
--at times very scatter-brained
--smart, fun, funny, and driven! (At least the one at our house is! Thank God!)
Our eldest is a perfectionist. She works hard in school and sports (not quite as hard at home as I would like, but we can't have everything), she dresses neatly and takes great care in her appearance, and she tackles any project with depth and precision. She is very responsible (when she's not being downright silly!) and has a sharp memory to aid her aging mother. Normally I can rely on her to be ready for school with no problem, but lately she's been slipping. True to her adolescent status, she misplaced her choir music TWO MORNINGS IN A ROW and ran out to the bus, in a tizzy about how in trouble she was going to be with her teacher!!
Two nights ago our eldest walks up to me, as I was getting ready for bed, and announces, "Can you wake me up early Mom? I want to find that soldier costume. I need it for my Sparta project tomorrow." TOMORROW. Nice.
Sure enough, I couldn't find the soldier costume in my basement stash yesterday morning. I looked in several boxes and then it occurred to me that it was probably still over at church from last Easter, when Paige wore it for a Passion skit. I promised Ally that I would get the costume (as I was planning to set up the Sunday School room anyway) and bring it to school when I picked up Wynne from preschool.
Every month we change over the theme at Sunday School, so when I wasn't looking for a soldier costume I was busy setting up for the next lesson on Moses and the Exodus. Ten plagues later, I grabbed a gold tunic and drove back home, praying that I would be able to find the soldier costume in the house this time around. "God, please just reveal where the breastplate is. I can always make her a helmet, but the breastplate is the whole costume!"
Sometimes God decides to answer our prayers right away. I found a new box to open, and there it was! The breastplate in all of its plastic glory!! I grabbed Wynne's fireman hat and ran upstairs to make a Spartan helmet. Thankfully, I had phoned the school and told the secretary that I would be a little late in picking up Wynne because I had an important Mom assignment to complete. I had promised Ally a Spartan costume and by golly, I was going to give her a Spartan costume!!
Carpe Ductum. Sieze the duct tape! (And yes, I took time to take a picture because one day, I want my kids to remember that their mother actually cares about them!!)
I ran up to the kids' rooms...no feathers to be found, except for two pink boas. No time for hot glue - tin foil and rubber cement, to the rescue!
Ally called home later that day to thank me. "It looked really awesome, Mom!"
Mission Accomplished. For Thursday.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.--Matthew 6:34
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.--Psalm 145:18
posted by Amy Siegert | 9:38 AM
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