Please, Lord, let "old" mean "Three and a Half."
Lest you think, dear reader, that M&B are perfect little angels, I'll clear that up for you right now. M has been pushing every button he can, stretching every rule, and sometimes openly defying mommy and daddy.
We've had a rough week.
Yesterday, for example, our friend Amy was taking care of the kiddos while I was in the back room. M threw a fit when she told him he couldn't throw the pillows off the couch (a rule with which he is already familiar). I took over for a couple minutes as the heavy, but as soon as we went back to the living room, he walked straight over and pulled off the pillows again. He and I went back to his room for a few minutes and he seemed okay, but when we walked back to the front room, he blocked the door so I couldn't enter:
Later, during his "nap," he took a poster out of its frame (a big, very old, very cool Los Angeles poster) and ripped it to shreds. As I write, he happens to be in timeout yet again. His timeout bench is going to wear right through, I fear.
Two nights ago I was so frustrated by the time he went to bed that I had great tears welling in my eyes--partly out of frustration with him, but even more out of sadness at the way I felt inside toward him at that moment.
So I went back to scripture, and I pulled out a couple of discipline books, and in the end I went to bed that night encouraged. No beans about it--God makes it very clear that little people are just as rebellious as the rest of us. But he makes thees great big promises like "train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Now, I don't know if I can wait until M and B are old--I'd like them to follow the right ways when they are young, too, but there are other promises that cover that. Basically, God promises us over and over that he loves us and he loves our kids. And that's about as encouraging as you can get.
So today we're being better about disciplining right away--not counting to three, not moving the goal-line ("Come here right now. Okay, after you finish your book. Okay, after you run around the house a little bit.), so that M is very clear about his rules. And I've also been asking him, "Are you obeying me right now, or disobeying me right now?" That usually helps, too.
I'll let you know. I hope we'll have an encouraging update before they're old.
We've had a rough week.
Yesterday, for example, our friend Amy was taking care of the kiddos while I was in the back room. M threw a fit when she told him he couldn't throw the pillows off the couch (a rule with which he is already familiar). I took over for a couple minutes as the heavy, but as soon as we went back to the living room, he walked straight over and pulled off the pillows again. He and I went back to his room for a few minutes and he seemed okay, but when we walked back to the front room, he blocked the door so I couldn't enter:
M: Daddy, please leave the living room.
D: Do you want me to leave so that you can disobey Amy?
M: Um, Yes.
Later, during his "nap," he took a poster out of its frame (a big, very old, very cool Los Angeles poster) and ripped it to shreds. As I write, he happens to be in timeout yet again. His timeout bench is going to wear right through, I fear.
Two nights ago I was so frustrated by the time he went to bed that I had great tears welling in my eyes--partly out of frustration with him, but even more out of sadness at the way I felt inside toward him at that moment.
So I went back to scripture, and I pulled out a couple of discipline books, and in the end I went to bed that night encouraged. No beans about it--God makes it very clear that little people are just as rebellious as the rest of us. But he makes thees great big promises like "train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Now, I don't know if I can wait until M and B are old--I'd like them to follow the right ways when they are young, too, but there are other promises that cover that. Basically, God promises us over and over that he loves us and he loves our kids. And that's about as encouraging as you can get.
So today we're being better about disciplining right away--not counting to three, not moving the goal-line ("Come here right now. Okay, after you finish your book. Okay, after you run around the house a little bit.), so that M is very clear about his rules. And I've also been asking him, "Are you obeying me right now, or disobeying me right now?" That usually helps, too.
I'll let you know. I hope we'll have an encouraging update before they're old.
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