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| Boys new phones...at least til school's out! |
Why is it so hard to be a good parent? I thought the hard part of parenting was when they were little. I was wrong...it's all hard. Well, I guess it's only hard if you do what really needs to be done. I can remember my parents telling me that what ever my punishment was, was way harder on them than on me. I was thinking to myself, yea right! Well now that I'm the parent, I think once again they were right!
The big boys have had a year of adjustments to say the least. It's almost been a year since my dad, their Papa, died. He was their babysitter from the very beginning and was their number one fan but also was hard on them too. We homeschooled for the first nine weeks or so before starting at public school and last year they'd been at the private christian school. So they've had quite an adjustment to add to their day to day lives. We've tried to be understanding about all these changes but there comes a time when you just have to suck it up and deal with it. My dad used to tell me this a lot, "Suck it up, buttercup!"
So this is the boys first real dose of "Suck it up, buttercup!" They didn't do anything just terrible or wrong but you know when things aren't going the direction you're trying to keep them going then something has to be done. I know every parent thinks their child is the best and I'm really no different. The boys had been slacking, not doing their best work at school (as in they've barely cracked a book!), not doing their chores the first time they were told, and kinda just taking on a lazy attitude. We had put up with it long enough and I knew something had to get their attention. So I went to the Wal-Mart and bought 2 go phones and sat out to get their attention!
They woke up last Friday morning to a new world, one without their iPhone! I tied bows on them and wrote them a note. I wanted the element of surprise to get their attention and I got it! I thought to myself, finally I'm getting their attention! But man oh man was it so hard to do and watch. I wanted to make it all better and give them back their iPhones but I knew that would be a huge step in the wrong direction. I had to take a stand on what our family is all about and it had to be firm! So with a smile on my face and a little bit of laughing, I stayed the course and stayed strong all the while thinking some day they'll thank me. And if not then we can go to therapy together when they're 30!
So as the boys are loading up to go to school I ask them if they have their phones and my oldest says, "No, not taking it!" Oh that was the icing on the cake for this momma! I began to spit words out as fast as I could explaining that his phone is for MY convenience not HIS! How dare you to be so ungrateful for all that you've been given. Then I hugged him even though he was fuming mad at me and told him just how much I loved him. My heart was breaking even though I knew I was doing the right thing!
Why is it so hard to do the right thing? Why? Well I don't know but I'm standing my ground. Praying that we are making the right decisions and being the uncool parent...yup that's us and we are proud of it! So I've decided that being a parent is the hardest job ever but so worth it. I've been given the responsibility to mold and shape these boys into men and productive citizens of society, ones that can live on their own without me, stand up for what they believe in, and be awesome husbands and daddys. This is not to be taken lightly and I will do whatever it takes!
Trinity
You are kidding that your boys have iphones, right?
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