Well, the kids went back to school today. THANK FREAKING GOD!!!! I swear I was one day from disowning them all. I think that being together 24/7 did not strengthen their sibling bonds, to say the least. We will need to come up with a different childcare arrangement (maybe separate summer-long camps for each of them?) next summer for sure.
Parenting continues to be the biggest challenge in my life. I am not wired to handle the irrationality that comes with every kid. I need order, predictability, or at least the ability to reason with one another. For instance, yesterday we gave the girls the simple task of picking up their room. They can destroy their room in a matter of minutes. They don't even close their drawers, for crying out loud. Who taught them that?? Anyway, I could have had the job done in about 10 minutes. They were in their room for THREE HOURS!!! We tried bribing, threats of punishment, reasoning with them, screaming at them... Nothing worked. It boggles my mind! I have a doctorate degree! Why can't I figure this out???
Eventually the room was pretty well cleaned. But I know that when they get home from school today, within a short period of time it will look exactly like it did yesterday. Why bother, really? Maybe I'm going at this all wrong. How important, really, is a clean room? Why not just keep the door closed and let them mess it up however they want? Maybe I just need to let the clean room thing go and be happy that they don't smoke or steal and get good grades. Is this just a phase? Will they eventually come around and realize that a clean room is a good thing? Or is it even a good thing after all?
Well, the roommate I had my freshman year in the college dorm was the sloppiest person I had (until Morgan and Claire came along, anyway) ever met. And it really bothered me! She was also lazy and unfocused and really just there to party. I think she failed out of college after a couple of years. Maybe my memories of her are what's making me so anal about the room. Maybe I think my daughters will grow up to be just like her.
Or not. I was sort of sloppy when younger and not only did I complete college, but I actually try to keep a neat house. So there is hope, right?
Ugh, like I said, this parenting thing has really tthrown me for a big old loop. Will my decision to make them clean their room or not alter the course of their lives and possibly determine whether they graduate from college?? Are they, as I suspect, genetically wired to do their own thing despite what we as parents may want from them?
Maybe I'll have the answers someday. Or maybe some of you seasoned parents can give me the answers now.
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