Say Goodbye to Control

I bet Mama Pelican never has to keep after her children to clean their nest.

I finished reading a book yesterday on parenting. I'm not well-read on the subject at all as I haven't had a whole lot of trouble (so far) with my children. Scarry to consider that all these years I've just been wingin' it. But they don't throw rocks at cars or birds, they don't throw sand at the beach, they don't throw things at me, they rarely throw anything at each other except a few words that we would never use in public that they've picked up from the occasional slip of my tongue when I've cursed out inconsiderate motorists or lost my self-control in less conspicuous---more private places. I'm working on honorable. I promise.

I'm assuming my daily dose of medicine consists of the typical ingredients prescribed for most parents with children twelve and under: prepare to take at least two sneaking children of any kind with one heaping teaspoon of procrastination, a dash of pouting, and the rolling of one's eyes after any request for the completion of chores and/or school work. And I'm learning not to take it too personally when my requests for room clean up result in a few more serious side effects such as drowsiness and nausea in the form of, "I'm too tired," or "I don't feel good."

So I've been thinking that it's probably not a bad idea to start taking a few precautionary measures to prepare myself for those heavier doses of medicine that will more than likely present themselves in the form of a teenage prescription; when all of that over-the-counter whining and complaining they've been giving me will no longer be effective.

Since the book speaks specifically about teaching our youth to value others as special, to have a good attitude, and to do more than what's expected, I thought I would start out in the bathroom by asking them to create a sign that would remind them (and keep me from repeating myself) to make sure the bathroom was ready for the next person...

Well, I gave them an A for penmanship,

and a big fat D for Dishonorable.

In the meantime...

I told these two to go and do something honorable like clean up their nest...I mean their mess.