observations & revelations

The family is at church while Momma stays home with little Beth, whose snot nasal mucous lingers.  Asleep now, she will nevertheless sense my writing and awaken shortly.  Okay, a bit of sarcasm there.  Teething and mucousing run my life lately.  Reading in health manuals, you'd expect mucous to end within ten days.  I have two children who defy medical journals, producing mucous for seventeen days on the nose (pun intended).  No more, no less.

Sweet.

As I readied the troops for church, the difference physical proximity makes in the area of discipline and training again struck me.   I used it as a teacher tool, yet somehow it slipped my radar early on in my parenting.  Unfortunate lapse.  Yelling is often precipitated by parenting from another room--children are slower to obey a far-off voice, leading to parental anger.  Managing calmness now, I sense proximity as the stabilizer.

Homeschooling friends join us for dinner this evening, so the colossal cutout-cookie mess made during yesterday's playdate beckons me.  Why, oh why, did I sweep and mop prior to that glorious occasion?  What was I thinking?  It all begs repeating, along with the vacuuming.

Peter and Paul don't know it yet, but vacuuming and sweeping duties commence for them shortly--after a training period, and especially before playdates.  A revision of standards occurred, boys.  You're capable of much more than I previously surmised.

Your wives will thank me.

Delegate.  Delegate.  Delegate.  I can do it.  Yes I can.

My new chant.