A Momma's Job is Never Done

I had a wonderful day yesterday. My oldest son, probably not so much of a wonderful day for him. As a parent, you try to guide your children to do the right thing and to be respectful. J is a good kid, but it seems like it is impossible for him to LISTEN sometimes. You can tell him not to do something and he will do it or DIE. If you tell him to do something, he will do his best to make sure you think he did it when he really didn't do it. For example:

The night was coming to a close and the kids were getting ready for bed. I told J to go brush his teeth. He actually gets up (hallelujah) and goes to the bathroom. I hear the water turn on and he is in there a few minutes before he shuts the water off and heads towards his room. I am feeling a little euphoric that my child actually LISTENED. I am making PROGRESS! I was pretty excited as I danced around my bedroom doing a victory dance. I calmed down and headed for the restroom to brush my fangs as well. I turn on the light, grab my tooth brush, and pause. The kids' toothpaste is in the same spot as it was this morning.....hmmm. I look at J's toothbrush and then reach over to feel the bristles. Guess what? It was completely DRY! He spent all that time in the bathroom with the water running to make me THINK he was brushing his teeth. Needless to say, I put my toothbrush down and marched down the hall to J's room. I pushed open his door and he just looked at me with those innocent looking blue eyes.

"J, you did NOT brush your teeth." I told him as I crossed my arms and gave him the stern momma stare.

He climbs out of bed. "Ok, I'll go do it. How did you know I didn't do it?" he asked me as he headed back towards the bathroom.

"Momma is REALLY REALLY smart and I will always know if you did what you were supposed to or not." I explained as I followed him to the bathroom to make sure he started the process of actually brushing his teeth.


Then yesterday, I had an hour drive with J and my nephew. They were wired since they just got out of school. By the time we got to where we were going, they both had gotten into trouble. This was their punishment:

J had to write, "I will not be disgusting." and it took him an HOUR to get it done. Taylor had to write, "I will not say I will kill you to anybody." and it only took him 10 minutes to get it finished.  It made me realize that a momma's job is never done. When you think your kid finally listened and figured it out, they end up doing something silly again.

SGC