Let's be real...sticking to your guns is not easy!! In fact it stinks.
Corben asked to go to McDonald's to play today so we went and got a snack - some yogurt for Corben and a dollar sweet tea for Mom. Then I got everyone settled in the play area. Corben was sitting in his chair happily eating his yogurt, baby in a high chair mouthing a spoon I gave him and me sipping my sweet tea.
Another mom was next to us with her two boys and the usual conversation came up.
"Wow, bless your heart how close in age are they??"
Me - "About 21 months apart."
"Well you look like you've got it down. How is it having them that close?"
Me - "Some days are better than others." :)
I was a proud mom at that moment. Look at my sweet boys being so good. Sigh.
Then Corben took his shoes off and got down to play so I moved to his side so I could get a better view of the slide where he was playing. Corben comes back over and tells me to sit in "your" seat and points to the seat that I was in first. I explain calmly that these are everyone's seats and mommy came to sit here so she could see him. Do you want to sit with mommy?" He then starts to push at me and scream that it is "HIS" seat. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. So I pick him up and put him in my lap and tell him that he needs to calm down or we are not going to be able to play anymore. He squirms out of my lap and throws a fit and of course by now the playplace has filled with other parents and their children. I scooped Corben up, got baby out of his high chair and took them to the bathroom.
Then we marched back to the playplace put Corben's shoes on, packed up our stuff and went back home. Our outing lasted a whole 30 minutes.
Being a mom is HARD. Being consistent is even HARDER! I told him we would leave if he acted out. So we had to leave even though he asked so sweetly to stay when we were in the bathroom. But I couldn't... I told him we were going to leave if he threw a fit. So that's what we did.
I really do understand why so many parents don't discipline and aren't consistent. It seems like it would be so much easier to just live and let live. I could have just moved and laughed it off "oh he's just type A like his daddy." I would have totally bypassed the whole situation (well sort of... it would continue to rear its head until its dealt with). But I would have been encouraging the selfish behavior that we have been working through. It's not about me. It's about them understanding actions have consequences. Honoring your parents, using self control, sharing etc etc. All those lessons that are tied up in those short thirty minutes of life.
I don't always handle situations the best but I do the best I can with what I know. I was having a hard time with discipline a while back and started reading some of the articles online from No Greater Joy Ministries. It really encouraged me. He encouraged parents to not be too hard on themselves and that there are not enough hours in a lifetime to devour all the knowledge that you need to be a parent. But you do have God and he has all the wisdom you need.
I can definitely see that I'm going to need a lot more grace and a lot more face time with God as they get older. This must be where praying without ceasing comes from! It gets easier right?
At least I didn't say to the lady. "Oh it's great, having two this close is sooo easy!"
Thanks for letting me vent a little.
