Reminder Walls

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a very stressful day.  The Spud was pushing every boundary and being pretty obnoxious.  Simple chores were taking three times as long as usual to complete as the Drama Queen sighed and groaned her way through homeschool that morning.  The Beast had already been disciplined twice that day for getting into things he shouldn't have.  Then, right before I packed up all the kids and their stuff to take them to Grandma's for the night (oh glorious day!) I went downstairs and discovered this masterpiece spanning the entire wall in the kids' room.  I turned and saw that the same artist had drawn on every door, every cabinet, the toilet, the shower, the laundry room furniture, and every wall in between. 

I freaked out.  I said a lot of angry words, demanded to know where the instrument of destruction was, was annoyed that yet another thing had disrupted my day.  I looked at the magnitude of the mess, thought of the fact that we rent, not own this place, and panicked.  When the Beast confessed that he had been the one wielding the marker, I lit into him, reminding him that this was not our house and that we take care of things in the house and that this was going to take forever to clean up.  He found the marker for me, and to my great relief, I saw that it was a dry-erase marker and not a
Sharpie, as I had originally thought.  I muttered loudly to myself that "this was the last straw" and "you better feel grateful that I'm still letting you go to Grandma's today." 

Later on, I got out a bucket of soapy water and a sponge and started scrubbing.  It quickly became apparent that although the marker was not permanent, it was going to take a lot of time and elbow grease to clean it up.  I spent a good two hours on it, making little headway down the wall.  I worked on it the next day and tried to have the kids help me.  Now, two weeks later, there are still marks on the wall.  Although they are faded, they are certainly still visible, reminders of what transpired that day, reminders that a mom lost control and said angry and hurtful things.

It's been two weeks, but those words have not been erased or forgotten.  Yes, they have faded somewhat in the midst of the "I love you"s and the bedtime stories and the hugs and the kisses.  Still, the thoughtless words and negative reactions have left an indelible print in my child.  The faded marks on the wall stand as a solemn reminder of how much influence my words have on my children.

I still haven't figured out how to get it all off the wall.  Even my "magic eraser" has failed me this time.  Most likely we will have to paint over it.  In like fashion, I have had to "paint over" my lack of kindness and self-control with the Beast by asking his forgiveness and asking God to forgive me as well.  Colossians 4:6 tells me to "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

I am not a perfect mom and never will be.  But I can tell you this - those marked-up walls have served as an admonition to me to watch my words and my attitude as I work with my children every day. 

Word of the Day

Little Miss Curiosity is all abuzz about words these days! Lately it's been "What does that say, Momma?" or "What does this word mean?"

Last night I took the little genius to the grocery store with me to pick up a few essentials. "Mom, what does standard mean?" she asked after carefully sounding it out.

I glanced at the package she was reading and tried to think of a simple way to define the word standard. "It means 'normal', honey," I finally responded.

"Oh, got it," she said. "Like our family. Our family is standard."

Yeah. Totally. Standard, that's us!

A Girl Walks into a Blank

Time to fill in the blanks again! Lauren of course has come up with some wonderfully interesting statements, and as usual, hang on to your seat as you catch yet another glimpse into my wildly exciting life. (Excuse me a moment. The Spud just put his cereal bowl on his head, and Crunch Berries and milk are cascading down his face...)

1. Today I am wearing an OLD Old Navy T-shirt, an ancient denim skirt that I have had forever, and fuzzy green/purple slipper socks. It is going to be a day of painting for me... .

2. My favorite childhood food was ketchup and macaroni (my mom called it "poor man's spaghetti") and my favorite food now is sushi or lasagna or pizza or pad thai or a really yummy burger from Red Robin. Okay, so I have a hard time choosing....

3. A day that I am too busy to read a book with my kiddies or laugh hysterically at the Drama Queen's latest knock-knock joke is a day that I am too busy.

4. The last movie I saw was "The Blind Side" (in theaters anyway) and the next movie I want to see is "Toy Story Three." How sad is that? I guess the mom haircut is not far off now... .

5. My favorite smell is coffee, especially when you first walk into the coffee/tea/baking aisle at the grocery store because, it speaks of a great caffeine rush to come, the incredible comfort of holding a steaming mug of goodness in your hands, and the promise of a new day, new things...

6. A weird little quirk I have is to look at license plates and billboards and rearrange the letters in my head to make new words. The word puzzle part of my brain never sleeps. Poor hubby! he has to listen to things like "Hey! Did you know that diaper spelled backwards is repaid?" .

7. When I take personality quizzes they always say I'm the female version of Dr. Phil, and that I should take over the world. For now, I shall conquer this cup of coffee and the breakfast dishes...

And on to painting! I have five lovebird paintings to complete today as well as a baby shower cake. :) Happy Friday everyone!