I got him some breakfast and then put on a DVD for him to watch; then I had my breakfast and coffee. Then I decided to check email and Facebook.
Several minutes later, I heard a voice from the living room saying, "Wash hands."
That sounded ominous. Watching a DVD doesn't usually result in dirty hands.
I went into the living room and discovered that he had just poured a full bottle of chocolate-milk syrup over the coffee table. It was oozing over one of his favourite puzzles and had dripped into a big, gooey puddle on the carpet.
Words were exchanged.
Yellow-blue-red privileges for the day were revoked.
Blood pressure was monitored. (Mine, not his.)
So even though this is Canada Day, and even though I am not terribly knowledgeable about American history (as evidenced by my consistently lame performance on most Jeopardy! categories related to the historical and political aspects of our southern neighbour), I thought I would share this quotation -- ever so slightly revised -- with apologies to Thomas (a.k.a. "I Feel Your") Paine.
***
“These are the times that try moms' souls. The babysitter and the camp counsellor will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their carpet; but she that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Chocolate syrup, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the more gooey the spill, the more glorious the eventual cleanup." *
***
(Or I might just pull the couch out a couple of feet from the wall and cover up the stain. That could provide consolation, too.)
What a fabulously delicious morsel made from a chocolaty mess! May your carpet and blood pressure be restored to perfect condition:)
ReplyDeleteFrom your lips to God's ears! Thank you, Judy -- have a great day! :-)
DeleteI go with moving the couch over the stain, and with more Thomas Paine paraphrases!
ReplyDeleteYeah, hiding the evidence sounds like a plan right now. :-)
DeleteJonathan needs to understand the concept of consequences, so I asked him later on Saturday, "Why could we not go and do yellow-blue-red?" And he said, "Because too cold." "No," I said, "It wasn't because it was too cold; it was because of the big--?" "MESS!" he said with a huge angelic smile on his face. It was difficult to maintain severity at that moment. Sigh.
Love this. :)
DeleteThanks, Adriana. I'm sure you can relate to MESS moments. :-)
DeleteOh yes. Absolutely! :)
DeleteOh, Jeannie, I feel your pain too! I have racked my brains, but I don't have any stories of messes to share. Maybe it's the same phenomenon that makes you forget how painful childbirth is, or maybe I'm just getting old. But maybe it's because Andrew in particular never wanted to let me out of his sight, and was permanently attached to my pant leg for the first few years! Two promises in scripture have been very meaningful to me in the challenges of motherhood. First, the verse in James 1 that says that God gives wisdom to those who ask, without finding fault. I have sat on the top of the staircase taking God up on that promise many times. Also the one that says we won't be tempted beyond what we can endure. I remember lying on my bed and telling God that in case He wasn't aware, I'd reached my limit! Being a mother sure has made me grow in my faith! Maureen
ReplyDeleteThat's so true, Maureen. There have been times I've gone to bed and the only prayer I could say was "I can't do this, help me." God has always answered that prayer. As for Jonathan, I was saying to Richard recently that Jonathan seems to be having the "terrible tens" rather than twos: doing naughty things you'd expect a 2-year-old to do, like flushing the toilet when I've just told him not to, or dumping my earrings into the bedroom garbage can. Maybe because he is delayed developmentally he's having the normal stages, just at different times. I don't know if that's exactly reassuring, but it IS kind of interesting! Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Maureen; I really appreciate your thoughtful responses.
Delete