life's little stories » parenting

Rules I Never Thought I’d Make

kim — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:04:28 +0000

A strange thing happens when you’re a parent.

You find yourself saying the most unimaginably crazy things.

“No one shall use the phrase ‘Your mom’ as a snarky retort.”
(i.e. ‘oh yeah? your MOM hasn’t done her homework’)

“No one shall use that little-kid-teasing-somebody ‘na na na na naaah na’ tune for anything, ever.”

“No giving wedgies to anyone outside the family.”

“No using spaghetti as a weapon.”

Sigh.

Anyone have any crazy rules to add?

Filed under: our family

I know the answer to that one.

kim — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:22:22 +0000

Leaving family camp….. have been playing near a creek:
Me: It’s time to go!
Her: Aw, mom! Can’t I stay and look for leeches?

No. The answer will always be NO.

Family in car… have been driving for 2 hours:
Him: I need to use the bathroom!!
Dad: we’re almost home, buddy.
Him: Aw, dad! Can’t I pee out the window while we’re driving?

No. The answer will always be NO.

Maybe we’re just really strict.

Other questions to which the answer will always be ‘no’?

Posted in family, kid stuff

Conflicted Purposes

kim — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:50:16 +0000

I woke up early this morning for some reason. I spent some time reading through a magazine I subscribe to called ‘Worship Leader Magazine’ (who knew, right?). Several articles led me to reflect on my role as a worship leader: to be a part of creating opportunities for our congregation to gather together and give worship and honor to God… making His name famous. While I’ve never found this task to be simple, I need to be reminded that the goal, the focus is just that singular.

My reading and reflection about this was interrupted by my five year old who shuffled in from his bed, rubbing his eyes.

“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“What day is it?”
“Thursday.”
“What do we do on Thursday?” (this is a boy who likes to keep track of the rhythm of the week, and since summer started, he hasn’t quite memorized our routines)
“Well, we do a bunch of different things. But I don’t go to work today, so we’ll be together” (my job is part time, so there are a few days each week that I’m at home.)
“Oh.” He snuggles up beside me, looking like he could sleep for a while longer.

Pause.

“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Is it still summer?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you and daddy still have to go to work?”
“Oh, buddy, our jobs keep going in the summer.”

Pause.

“But when will your jobs take a break?”

Pause.

I’m flooded by a million responses, none of which are particularly generous toward either of our jobs, and which, after making their way through my head, leave me standing in a familiar shallow pool of regret and guilt.

No amount of conversations about ‘gifting’ and ‘call’ in ministry have made this easier. No conversations with other working moms have answered how it makes sense to juggle career and family. Because the people in my family are more than objects to be handled and my job is not a clock I punch. The perhaps-you-have-been-called-for-such-a-time-as-this idea can be used to maximize the importance of either role. Plus it has given me a bit of an attitude about the biblical story of Esther.

Today, I don’t have a good resolution to this tension. By 7:30am I have been reminded of the ultimate purpose of my ministry role and the ultimate purpose in being present with my kids. Today, I don’t have a solution. But I do have a day with my kids, away from work. When I step away from my mental rant, I remember that I want my life to bring honor to God in all things. So today I do this by caring for my home and family.

I give my boy a little squeeze and start a conversation about pancakes. This was worth the early morning.

Are you ever conflicted?

Random. Things. 2.

kim — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:46:59 +0000

Question for you: clothing purgatory. Does it exist in your house? Do you have ‘a place for’ (and by that I mean ‘a horizontal surface which collects’) clothing which is not dirty enough to wash, but apparently not clean enough to put away? This is a phenomenon I do not understand. Somebody please ‘splain.

Speaker paint. You know how there is white board paint… chalkboard paint… magnetic paint… glow-in-the-dark paint? Someone should invent speaker paint. If I want speakers in my ceiling, I just paint them on. If I want surround sound, a 6 inch border around the room should do it. Imagine the transformation of the average arena concert. Imagine the sound coming from the average paint store.

Rules I Never Thought We’d Have to Make:

no more squashing marshmallows with the remote
no giving wedgies at church
no adding the word ‘poop’ to all other words

And finally, my son and I spent a morning learning a few things about this fine state we live in and the famous historical figures who have come from here. Check it out.

TV rules?

kim — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:50:10 +0000

When I was a kid, there were certain TV shows that were forbidden. This was back in the 4-channel-accessed-only-by-antennae days, of course, when summers really were for re-runs and season premieres all happened at the same time. There weren’t that many options, so when something fell onto the ‘no’ list, it was a very big deal.

So. I have questions. When you were a kid were there tv shows you weren’t allowed to watch? what were they?

Are you surprised now by what you could or couldn’t watch?

If you have kids of your own now, do you have rules about what tv/movies they watch? what’s off limits? do you have questions about your own rules?