Can anyone tell me why boys are so cavalierly irresponsible? Anyone? Please?
My boys are driving me crazy. I'm observing a big difference between boys and girls this week and I've decided to share it and open the floor for comment.
I actually will begin with the library book. Maggie left a library book on the table when she went to school Wednesday. Being a type A personality, this untidiness was not ok with me. After she left it was dealt with swiftly. Swiftly, and apparently mindlessly. When she got home Wednesday, there was a flurry of panicked chaos. She immediately noticed it was gone and started scouring the house for it. All the while adamant that it was on the table when she left. All the while, I was adamant that it was NOT on the table after she left. She went to bed completely stressed out that night and woke the next morn still upset. Devastated that she would be awarded a dreaded "Strike" for not having her library book. It was not until I pulled her bookbag out of her locker to hand it to her on her way out the door, that I remembered putting the book in the purse she also left on the table. At which point I saved the day and handed her the library book. Her relief was palpable. So was my guilt.
Cut to this morning. When I told Sam to make sure he had his house keys. Again, this prompted a flurry of panicked activity. Note: the panic was all on my end. Please keep in mind that I have a key rack hanging right inside the door. He flipped through his locker and meandered to his bedroom. No keys. I am a person who likes for everything to have a place. And I want those said things to be IN their places. So, while he looked for his keys, I railed. I railed about the keys, and the key rack and his need to be more responsible at 14 years of age. In the midst of my railing, I grounded him from his new Playstation 3. Initially, for the evening...but as we progressed into 10 minutes of looking and no keys, I railed " No Playstation 3 until you FIND those keys!" Thinking "That'll show him! I mean business! " He left for school, with no keys in hand. I refused to hand over mine to him. The last thing we need is for him to lose my set of keys too! So, I told him on his way out the door that I love him and he might want to grab a hat, cause it would be pretty damn cold outside when he gets home and has to wait 45 minutes for me to arrive. After he left, I went to his room and within 5 minutes I had unearthed the keys. At which point I texted him " Found keys. They will be where I hid them before. This had better not happen again.I U" His response? Well, of course, it was "Thanks Mom, You're the greatest".
Bwaaaaaa hhhaaaa haaaaaa haaaaa.
Sike, it was actually, "am i still grounded" . To which I replied, "Yes, you still lost them. You really need to be more responsible."
Bwaaaaaa hhhaaaa haaaaaa haaaaa.
Sike, it was actually, "am i still grounded" . To which I replied, "Yes, you still lost them. You really need to be more responsible."
Ugh!!!
As I sent this last text, Liam screamed at me from the bathroom, "I need my towel!" I screamed back at him, "Well, then get it off the back of the door!!" Needless to say, it was not hanging on the back of the door. I had to go find it on his bedroom floor and take it to him. In hindsight, perhaps I should have made him run cold and naked to find it. Seriously, how hard is it to hang your towel back up when you're done with it? For that matter, I should have hung Sam's keys on the key rack in the house and let him freeze for three quarters of an hour.
The most frustrating part for me is their attitude. They are so unaffected. There is no emotion visible. No guilt, no remorse, nothing. Not so, Maggie. She is in a positive tissy when something of hers goes missing.
Why is that? Why is my 8 year old daughter more responsible than my 14 and 9 year old boys?? I don't understand?
I love you all!
Well, having one each, I have to agree. Jen is def the most organized, but thinking back, she did have her moments of forgetfulness (probably due to all the after-school activities she participated in). James is much more laid back, and if he had to wait for me to come home, well, he'd have found someone to hang with or something to do. (It wasn't important to him!) Each child is an individual. However, I don't remember keys being an issue more than once or twice :)
ReplyDeleteFor the first 12 years of Sam's life you did not work. You did not require him to use his own brain for practical things, like "I will need my keys tomorrow, because Mom won't be home" He really did not have to remember these trivial things because you were a SAHM. Cheryl, you always did things for your children, you prided yourself in making their life easy, you let them be children, with no worries. This is a big transition for them, have the conversation with them, let them know the rules of the house have changed, here are the new ones. Effective TODAY! Love you, Mom
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd like to say that Sarah is more responsible than Andy, but that just isn't so. He is my organized, a place for everything & everything in it's place, child. Sarah on the other is hand is more like me....organized chaos. We almost always run late in the mornings because of her, her room is a disaster (which I refuse to clean), & I constantly have to remind her to brush her hair in the mornings. I know eventually, she'll get more organized, etc. but it's frustrating to me on so many levels. We haven't yet given the kids a housekey or even discussed a hiding spot outside for a key, so in the event that we are not home, they can still get in the house. The time is coming though....
ReplyDeleteDear Mom,
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you on this topic & as Cheryl's boss I know what an organized control freak she can be so I'm shocked that she even took the baby steps to give Sam keys as this was a sign of relinquishing a tiny bit of that control! LOL I love every controlling inch of you Cheryl!
Julie
Julie