This, That and the Other Thing

So it's Monday..

Bleh.

And while this Monday started off in the typical Monday fashion- as in we were SUPER late for school this morning. It has got to be better than last Monday.

Believe me, it was just a bad one.

Although, so far this one is living up to all Monday standards.

This morning, my six year old refused to get ready for school or listen to anything I said, because she woke up and decided she didn't need to go to school anymore. She is going to be a fairy.

I was like, um... what????

Oh yes, she threw the BIGGEST STUBBORN FIT ever because she wanted to be a fairy and so school was unnecessary.

I couldn't even take her seriously. She knows better. She knows fairies aren't real. She knows she has to go to school. She even Likes school!!!

I have no idea what this morning was about.

But it about set me over the edge. I can argue with "I'm tired." Or, "I have a tummy ache." I can even motivate when they're feeling sluggish. But truthfully, my parenting skills fall flat when my child that has a very firm grasp on the difference between make-believe and real life expectations decides she would rather be a fairy than live in the real world and go to school.

Unfortunately, I know this won't be my last battle with fiction vs. reality.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my children's imaginations. I adore them. Encourage them even! If it weren't for imagination, we can all assume I would have NO writing career. Heck, I live in the realm of make-believe for most of my adult life.

But it's a little out of control around here. And I probably have no one to blame but myself.

Last week, Scarlett- who is four- had a huge sob-fest for an entire DAY because I accidentally (Ok, not so accidentally) explained that Unicorns weren't real.

Emotional Meltdown does not even begin to cover what she went through over that discovery. There were tears, screaming, shouting, fists flying, racking sobs... the poor baby just refused to believe the truth.

And Stryker- my two year old- legitimately thinks he can fly. This is probably my most terrifying of all irrational kid fantasies. Mostly because I'm worried what he will jump off of thinking he can take off into the sky before he hits the hard, solid ground.

Every time he jumps he screams, "Mommy! Mommy! I flew!! I flew!!!" And I try, with a mixture of patience, humor and exasperation, to explain to him that he DIDN'T fly. That he merely jumped. While also inflating his ego about what a great jumper he is.

But it doesn't work.

He jumps off the back of our couches, screaming, "I CAN FLYYYYYYYYY!!!!!" Our table. Our chairs. The KITCHEN COUTNERS. It's terrifying.

Between the fairies, the unicorns and the secret super-hero skills, my children are obviously not lacking for imagination. I can hardly wait to see what the baby comes up with....

And I'm really, fine with all of these! I love how they come up with this stuff!

One of my favorite things to do is listen to them whenever they play alone. You know, how they talk to their guys or barbies and create conversations between them. I just love that! I love hearing what they come up with.

Sometimes it's a horrible reflection of my parenting. But sometimes I'm impressed that they actually remembered something I've been trying to instill in them.

They are precious though. Even if they think they can jump of the roof and be fine, or that one day they will finally be able to convince mom and dad to get them that pet unicorn they've been begging for for years.

I did solve the unicorn problem though. Well, maybe not solve it. She is after all, still heartbroken. But Target happened to have a unicorn shirt on sale for all of three dollars, so you better believe I totally bought my child's affection and forgiveness with that shirt.

:)

Which reminds me. So I was at Target on Saturday. By. Myself.

I never get to go alone. Mostly because my husband knows that if he lets me wander into Target without a time limit or children to drive me crazy and rush me, I will get lost in there for hours.

True story.

So anyway.... this is obviously what happened Saturday. And by the time I got to the checkout I still wasn't necessarily in a hurry to leave the store and return home to chaos. And it was a good thing since I waited in line for 18 minutes.

Which was no big deal for me. That meant I got to stand in line and read all the celebrity headlines and flip through Time magazine. I didn't have kids with me, so I just basked in the silence and stillness that was Target on a Saturday morning.

By the time I got to the checker she was already apologizing for taking so long and thanking me for not being impatient or shooting her evil glares.

She must have been having a bad day, because honestly I've never been thanked by a checker before. Usually, I am the one thanking them for putting up with grabby kids, $200 of groceries, coupons, price checking and me being so frazzled I can never remember their questions or to answer all the stupid questions on the credit-card swiper.

Anyway, she was really really sweet and I just waved her off. I mean, she can't help that the lady in front of me took FOREVER. She was doing her job, to the best of her ability.

Plus, what I didn't tell her was that standing in line, getting my celeb gossip fix without kids is kind of like a vacation. Or at the very least, some soul-satisfying therapy. I left Target feeling rejuvenated and energized.

It was awesome! And I even got thanked for it.

Possibly, I need a vacay. Possibly, she just needed me in her line. I am not always so magnanimous. Most of the time I AM in a hurry. Or my kids are being incredibly obnoxious. But it's nice to know we mutually benefited each other. I got to relax for a few minutes and she got to have someone not yell at her.

It's nice how those moments sometimes work out for us!

This blog SO has no point!!! If you were looking for one.... I apologize. Lol!

But, this weekend I got to thinking how much I miss just blogging for fun. I haven't done it in probably a year and a half. And I really, truly miss it. So, I purposed to do more blogs about my crazy life and things that have nothing to do with books!!!

I mean, I'll have that too. Especially because Sunburst is going to release this week and there is a Love and Decay coming out!!!! BUT. I'm mixing it up more.

Because standing in line at the grocery store is not the only form of therapy I need. I might possibly, probably.... definitely need this too.

Hope you're ready for the chaos to come!! :)



Rachel

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3 comments:

  1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks going to the store sans kids is the next best thing to an actual vacation! ;) I get to get caught up on all the celebrity gossip that I have no time for, and get away from SpongeBob for a few... Heaven!

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  2. I do the same thing except I get lost in Walmart mostly b/c they are open 24/7. I will read labels on every moisturizer in the isle and it is like a vacation. I thought I was the only one. Good to know.

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