Oh the wisdom of a two-year-old. I mean who knew that dandelions are also known as "grasshoppers?" Or that Sleeping Beauty's real name is actually "Shake Your Booty!" (I guess they do sound kind of alike)? Or that holding hands, fingers interlocked and all, with your new boyfriend on the playground could be so much fun. Seriously, the things you can learn by following a spunky, strong-willed, child around. Of course that wisdom can eventually backfire on an unsuspecting parent... like today. I was picking up Pearl from daycare when her teacher said, "So, you spank your kid, huh?" What? I was totally caught off guard, trying to remember the last time I actually spanked Pearl. Trying to justify my apparent actions unbeknownst to me, Pearl's teacher told me that while they were on a little class walk, Pearl blurted out of the blue, "My mom spank my butt." For the record, yes I have spanked Pearl before but not recently! She's the one who usually goes around spanking MY butt (this little game her Dad taught where she whacks my butt over and over and says "Druma-druma-druma")! I'll admit I do threaten her with a spanking but it's never mean or as punishment, more playfulness but apparently that will be changing now!
Other lessons learned recently... I finished a book by Dr. Laura called "The proper care and feeding of husbands." At points I almost tossed it out the window but determined to gain some insight into Jeff's point of view, hopefully resulting in my being a better wife, I kept reading. A mere 48 hours later, this is all I can remember:
- Husbands put up with a lot more crap than we wives realize or want to admit. Give 'em a break and let them read the paper, surf online, or play in the garage when they get home from work.
- Stop nagging.
- Do not treat your husband like your girlfriend! Treat him like your knight in shining armor...which means, he doesn't need or want to hear all the little details about why your day was so horrible! If he can't fix it, don't nag it do death.
- Dress sexy and smell good.
- Embrace your role as wife and mother and your husband's role as husband and father. Forget all the crazy things society has been telling us for years about how husbands should basically throw their manhood out the windows to cater to our every whim. Make dinner, clean the house, take care of the kids, and remember that husbands do things they don't always like to do to keep the house/family running too.
- Take care of yourself... work out, lose the flab, do your hair, and get out of the pajamas and frump clothes.
- Ask him for his opinion, really listen to him, and realize that men have feelings too (although they don't complain about their feelings like us women do).
I'm sure you can see why I almost tossed this book but it was pretty eye-opening to read about how much society has bashed on men and that we blindly accept the idea that husbands should just bow down and worship their wives without anything in return. I'll be honest, I don't anticipate Jeff coming home to a wife in heels, wearing pearls and a short skirt (which would require working out), and pushing a vacuum while a delicious gourmet dinner is in the oven anytime soon, but I'm working on it.
This is so embarrassing of me to admit, but recognizing your faults is the first step in repentance, right? Seriously, I think I've just had my third strike and God is about to blast me off the face of the earth with a lightning bolt. Really, I know I've had at least one big strike before this blunder and I wouldn't be surprise to find at least one or two more in between the first big oops and this one I'm about to admit.
Last Sunday they passed around a sign up sheet to help out with a meal for a funeral this past Friday. Thinking I could benefit from some extra heavenly blessings, and knowing that I actually could help out with this one since I don't work on Fridays so there really wasn't an excuse to not do some service - even not knowing who the funeral was for - I signed up to bring a cake. Easy. My plan was to bake it Thursday night so I'd remember to drop it off at the church by 2 pm on Friday. I even canceled a bread making lesson with a friend to fulfill my assignment. Well, not only did I get a call from the Relief Society saying they didn't need my cake anymore but wanted me to bring funeral potatoes instead (I admit I was kind of irked at them because when they called they said the primary was late in getting the sign up sheet back to them and that they knew I didn't usually do this stuff so they didn't want to make it harder on me... blah blah blah! I got off the phone thinking to myself make an old lady who has nothing to do make the funeral potatoes!), but worse I totally forgot to make the stupid funeral potatoes! It wasn't until 3:30 after I called Jeff that it suddenly dawned on me that I had completely forgotten that I had committed to this assignment. I was horrified! So much for the reminder note I had made for myself! I seriously thought about this everyday, except obviously on Friday! I felt, and still feel, like the biggest loser on the planet. When Jeff came home I admitted my stupidity, which was really hard to do, and he just laughed when he told me he had wondered if I had remembered when he drove by the church on his way home from work and saw a couple of ladies leaving with dishes.
I don't get how I can be so on top of things at work, well relatively speaking, not forgetting meetings or assignments, following my calendar and to-do lists religiously then have all organizational skills go flying out the window the second I walk in the door at home. I know it's just an excuse but I honestly think it's because at work I am so organized, calendar/to-do list driven, that when I come home, I want to leave all traces of work behind. We're lucky we even have a yearly calendar at home... although it's not full of scheduled items like making funeral potatoes, it's just a reference for USU basketball games and holidays. I don't want people to think I am a total loser who isn't dependable or reliable and that no one wants to ask for help from ever again. I feel like the biggest loser, especially because there isn't a way to make up for this one. Like you can re-do a funeral!
Anyone else out there that finds themselves doing things like this? Any suggestions on how I can stay as organized at home as I do at work, without being attached to my computer?
Oh the wisdom of a two-year-old. I mean who knew that dandelions are also known as "grasshoppers?" Or that Sleeping Beauty's real name is actually "Shake Your Booty!" (I guess they do sound kind of alike)? Or that holding hands, fingers interlocked and all, with your new boyfriend on the playground could be so much fun. Seriously, the things you can learn by following a spunky, strong-willed, child around. Of course that wisdom can eventually backfire on an unsuspecting parent... like today. I was picking up Pearl from daycare when her teacher said, "So, you spank your kid, huh?" What? I was totally caught off guard, trying to remember the last time I actually spanked Pearl. Trying to justify my apparent actions unbeknownst to me, Pearl's teacher told me that while they were on a little class walk, Pearl blurted out of the blue, "My mom spank my butt." For the record, yes I have spanked Pearl before but not recently! She's the one who usually goes around spanking MY butt (this little game her Dad taught where she whacks my butt over and over and says "Druma-druma-druma")! I'll admit I do threaten her with a spanking but it's never mean or as punishment, more playfulness but apparently that will be changing now!
Other lessons learned recently... I finished a book by Dr. Laura called "The proper care and feeding of husbands." At points I almost tossed it out the window but determined to gain some insight into Jeff's point of view, hopefully resulting in my being a better wife, I kept reading. A mere 48 hours later, this is all I can remember: