Friday, after working 42 hours in 4 days (not counting New Years day when I volunteered for 3-4 hours to help with the Gatorbowl's Tailgate party), I had a bout of insanity when I invited my friend James's kids to spend the night. All 4 of them. (WHAT was I THINKING?!) They're a little bit older (from 8-12) so they pretty much entertain each other, which is nice. But unfortunately I live in an upstairs condo with crapily-made floors with no insulation. So... Twister? Bad Idea. Cosmic Catch? Bad Idea. Finally I was like "Everyone on the couch! We're watching a movie!" After the movie we eventually got to bed about 1:00, 1:30.
The alarm came way too early at 9:00. I got in the shower then woke everyone up for a trip to the zoo! We got yearly passes from my sister and we upgraded them to bring up to 4 kids w/ us. Our zoo has this great kid's play place where the kids can run around and truly feel like explorers. The problem is, for the parents/adults, its near impossible for us to keep track of the kids. So after about 20 minutes, i set out to round everyone up (I was hungry!) Well, i couldn't find them. I called in reinforcements and Barry and I both started looking for them. Turns out they were hiding from us. The little shits. I saw Kody running another direction and when I called for him he ignored me and kept running. Well that just pissed me off even more and when we finally got everyone together, 1/2 the kids thought we were still playing and were trying to run away. Then, it happened. You know how you start saying something and before it even leaves your tongue you regret what you're about to say?? I yelled at Kody and said "I will leave you here- DO NOT RUN." Like I'm gonna leave the kid, right?? AND any time i hear a parent make a promise or threat that they are in no way going to keep i cringe. And i said I was going to leave him?! I wanted to immediately go back in time and say something else. Luckily it blew over fast and i learned something I already knew. The way to a boy's heart is through his stomach. I said "Let's go eat!" and everyone was by my side.
After a "quick meander" back to the front, we wandered through the gift shop and stopped through the drive thru at McDonald's before returning them to their parents, all in one piece.
I just chock this one up as another parenting lesson that one day i will be able to use for my own.
2 comments:
I haven't even read your entry yet, but I loved the title SO much I had to tell you that. Okay, back to reading...
Okay, now I can really comment. I make empty threats often enough, but I really hate doing it. Usually the calmer you stay, the more likely everyone will listen to you (easier said than done).
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