Consider yourself warned!
A guide for those who think they want children.
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This past Tuesday, it was announced that New York City would be hit with another Nor’easter. Before my kids had even made it home from school, it was announced that school would be closed Wednesday. Can you believe it? When the announcement was made, it wasn’t even snowing. I thought that they would have at least waited to see what the weather did Wednesday morning before closing the schools. Well, this was one of the few times that the weather person got it right. It snowed. Boy, did it snow!
So, Wednesday, my kids had a snow day. They were still in bed when I left for work that morning. I have to admit, I was jealous. I wanted to stay home too, but I went to work anyway (I wanted to save my vacation days for when the kids and I go on vacation in a few weeks). So, there they were, all snug in bed. And there I was, getting ready to leave for work. In. All. That. Snow! As I went to work, I told myself that I should be grateful that 1) I have a job to go to, and 2) that my kids are old enough to stay home alone. When the kids were too little to stay home alone. I used to get them dressed and drag them through the snow just so that they could have the pleasure of going to work with me. These kids thought it was fun. They would take the train with me to work (along with all the other kids going to work with their parents), where they would be spoiled by my co-workers. It was a great day for them. It was hell for me. Now mind you, my kids were always well-behaved. However, no matter how well-behaved they were, I always worried that they would be a bother my co-workers. It always made for a stressful day. I remember the last time I planned to take the kids to work with me. They were about six and seven years old. It had snowed, schools were closed, and I had to work. I got the kids up, made them breakfast, and got them dressed. I was stressed before I had even left the apartment. I was so frustrated, probably in anticipation of how I thought the day was going to be. Then, all of a sudden, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Why am I doing this? Why am I stressing myself when I have unused vacation days? Why should these kids have to go to work with me when they can just stay home? Hell, I wanted to stay home! Then I realized that I didn’t have to do this. So, I called work, told them that I wasn’t coming in, and stayed home with my kids. I even got to take a nap later on in the day. It was a great day. After that, whenever school was closed I just stayed home (thank goodness NYC rarely closes schools). If there was a hint that school would be closed, I would prepare my work for the person who had to cover for me, and stay home with the kids. I started looking forward to snow days. Who wouldn’t? Snow days gave me the perfect excuse to stay home. I just always made sure that I had enough vacation days saved up. After all, the kids still need to eat on a regular basis, so leave without pay was not an option. After a while, the kids got older, and became more mature and responsible. They were able to stay home alone and no longer needed me to stay home with them. Yesterday was one of those days. They don’t need me to stay home with them, so I went to work. I miss my snow days! So, while your kids are young, save up your vacation time. Hopefully, you can use them for snow days and have fun with your kids. If you are able, take advantage of that time. You won’t get it back. So now you know and … Consider Yourself Warned!
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I have a notebook that I bought specifically to write out my 2018 goals and to keep track of my progress. In this notebook, I divided the year by quarters. Each quarter is divided into three columns. In the first column, I list my goals for that quarter. In the second column, I list the projected completion date for each goal. And in the third column, I list the date that the goal was actually completed. I spent a lot of time creating this notebook. I even have it color coded. My plan was to use it throughout the course of the year to keep track of my progress and to hold myself accountable.
After I spent a good part of the day creating my notebook, I decided to put it in a safe place. However, when I wanted to review it a few days later, I couldn’t find it. I looked all around my office and couldn’t find it. After a while, I thought, “Ok. Maybe I put it in my bedroom.” I looked there and couldn’t find it. For two whole weeks I looked for this notebook. I thought I was going crazy. The notebook had to be in the house. After all, I didn’t take it out. But damn, where could it be? Finally, in desperation, I asked my son, “Hey, did you see a big notebook?” Imagine my surprise when he looks at me and says, “Is it pink?” and then proceeds to open his book bag and pull it out! I. Was. Hot. Here I am looking for my notebook, and my son is using it for school! Oh hell no!! I asked him if he’d noticed that some of the pages had writing on them. Of course he didn’t. So then the talking began. I started talking about respecting other people’s property and not using things that didn’t belong to him, and how he should ask for permission before using other people’s things. Now mind you, I was not calm during this “conversation”. This was more like me yelling. At one point, my son actually had the nerve to look at me and say, “Its not that serious Mom.” Oh, I was done. It was like he had thrown gas on the flame. My temper flared up and I yelled for a good 15 to 20 minutes more. I’m sure he wished that he had kept his mouth shut. When I sort of calmed down, I decided that he had to be taught a lesson. He needed to learn what it felt like when you couldn’t find something, not because you lost it, but because someone else took it. So when he was in the bathroom, I looked around his room for something I could hide. I saw his combination lock and figured that it would be good to take it since hey, he must need it for his locker at school. At that point, I didn’t even care if his stuff got stolen. So I took the lock and hid it in my yarn box. I figured he wouldn’t look for it there. I imagined that he that he would be frantic the next morning and I couldn’t wait for him to ask me whether or not I saw the lock. I had it all planned out what I would say. I would innocently ask him, “Why would I know where it is? I don’t use it.” I had planned on waiting two weeks before the lock “mysteriously” reappeared. I figured he would have learned his lesson at the end of that two week period. The following morning, I notice my son putting a lock into his coat pocket. Now I’m confused. I didn’t give him the lock back and I was pretty sure that it was still in my yarn box. So I asked him, “Where did you get that lock from?” He just looked at me and said nonchalantly, “Oh, this lock. I’ve always had it.” All I could do was look at him and shake my head. Next time, I’ll just go in his wallet and take out his cash. I can almost guarantee that he doesn’t have any spare cash lying around. So the moral of this story is this, if you want to teach your kids a lesson, make sure that you do your research and plan for all scenarios. Now you know, and ... Consider Yourself Warned! |
SassyGirlTye lives with her two wonderful teenagers in Brooklyn, New York. No matter what she says in her posts, she truly loves her children with all her heart.
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