Two-and-three-eighths
Today I am wondering about the ways Adam and Eve parented.
I wonder if the method of arbitrary counting started with them, since we all do it and it has perhaps existed since the beginning of Creation, or at least around Genesis 3.
The counting because I’m waiting.
I’m waiting for him to put on his shoes.
Waiting for him to bring his dishes to the sink.
Waiting for him to run upstairs and find a pair of socks.
Waiting for him to listen to me.
Waiting for him to make a better choice than the one it appears he’s about to make.
Waiting for him to come running to me at the park, because the two-minute warning is up.
Waiting for them to put on their seatbelts.
Waiting.
Arbitrary counting for arbitrary waiting.
Sometimes I count up, with no clear goal in sight. Just pressure. I’m counting and he’s hearing me and who knows what could happen when I reach the end of my numbers? Mass destruction and heads exploding. Or the confiscation of Legos.
(I know Legos is not a word. The plural of Lego is Lego. But that -s just seems to be something I can’t let go of.)
But the one that is particularly peculiar to me is when I count down, and then I add fractions of numbers because we’re getting closer and closer and ever-so-closer to zero and clearly I need to add two-and-a-half and then two-and-three-eighths and so on, in order to maintain any authority.
I wonder if started with the original A & E, if perhaps they decided to add a little pressure to the situation by counting aloud.
Comments are closed
sherilyngraf says:
Also, I count very quickly to three. And that’s it. It’s more a way to speed up the decision-making process–whether to obey or not. Then they know the consequences will follow just as quickly.
sherilyngraf says:
How come the plural of Lego is Lego?Jason says it should be Legi. But when he tried to use it in a sentence, it came out leg-eyes.
Sue Muckley says:
I was going to say the exact same thing: Growing Kids God’s Way. It takes all the counting out…1st time obedience.
debbish58 says:
I have three boys, now men, but I think most kids do the same. They are pushing limits, I think to see how far they can push you and if you will still love them….? Guess what? Mothers are safe, we love our children no matter what! When the silliness of not listening is over and things are once again calm, maybe you can sit down and explain AGAIN, you need respect and for them to listen. It’s a form of a little control on their part, right?
Also, you can try a couple of times, when they ask for something, a drink of water, for you to read to them, to ignore them and then when they are frustrated – sit down and ask them if they like being ignored? You know what?
As moms, we ignore kids too much, not because we mean to BUT, we are multi-tasking and it just happens, we just can’t take them asking one more thing for us to do!
Sometimes when I ask my granddaughter to do something now, she will say, “in two more minutes”, so funny, I wonder where she got that from!
Best of luck!
mtrahyn says:
Thanks for this comment – I’m glad I’m not the only one. I have three boys, an almost 5 YO and twin almost 3 YOs. This happens to me all the time. Glad to know it has been happening for years, and it’s not just in my house. Thanks for the comment and Thanks Tricia for the post!
Michelle Oglesbee-Flores says:
It is a hard thing to do and find balance. I was a single mom and was having a hard time so I searched out a program through my church 14 years ago called Growing Kids Gods Way. It was wonderful, simple tools that worked with my son. 1 second rule was the goal. If it didn’t happen at the time, he was to fold his hands, sit down and listen. It took a lot of commitment on my part, but MAN, it worked.
Good luck.
Jeanette Rorabaugh says:
My dictionary says plural is Legos, with Lego a close second.