Thursday, September 11, 2008

confessions of a frustrated mom


we are a little bit stubborn---and by "we" i mean you, sy david anderson! unfortunately, stubbornness runs in the family. as i was growing up, every christmas eve as my extended family gathered together, it was tradition to rehash the "who is the most stubborn mcnally" list. my grandma beth always topped the list. next in line was either my dad or my sister, susan. i think their positions varied from year to year. my grandma and dad have since passed away which leaves susan at the top (way to go, sis) and i am fairly certain that next in line is my first born. i won't go into all the details but i will say that HE IS BEYOND FRUSTRATING!!!! i will also add that he saves all his off-the-charts stubbornness for me---in school, church and at friends' houses he is pretty much an angel. in fact, just the other day i may or may not have been really chewing him out for not listening to me when he said this to me, "mom, you're being mean to me. mrs. werner (kindergarten teacher) isn't mean to me." perhaps this should have caused me to take pause and meaningfully analyze why i find it necessary to "be mean" to my son and how sad it is that i am coming across as a mean mommy. yeah, no. instead, the chewing out progressed and escalated to, "of course mrs. werner isn't mean to you. do you know why mrs. werner isn't mean to you? because when mrs. werner asks you to do something----you do it. and when mrs. werner asks you to stop doing something----you stop it. you don't speak disrespectfully to mrs. werner and you don't argue with mrs. werner." at this point i did stop to breathe and unclench my fingers from the steering wheel. in the back seat there was audible blinking and blank stares from both boys. basically, the moral of the story is little children, if you don't want us to compare you to your siblings or friends, then don't ever compare your very emotionally invested mothers to anyone else either.

p.s. i love my kids---just in case that didn't really come across in this post.

12 comments:

Puck said...

heh heh... you and craig should've done some family profiling before deciding to perpetuate the species ;)

just kidding! i love you both (and your two brats :D)

Lindsay said...

anne, this is lindsay (aldous) salazar. i found your blog on some other fellow folk dancer's blog and i must admit that nobody makes me laugh like you. i love knowing that i'm not the only frustrated or "mean" mom out there. it's sounds like you guys are doing great!

Tennille said...

Ha! I'm surprised my kids haven't said that to me yet. My MIL always tells me to be glad the kids are good in public, but geez, would a little obedience and respect at home be such a bad thing? :)

Anne said...

i agree with your mil, tennille. i am always really thankful they save the attitude for me. if it ever starts to filter into the world outside then we will really have a problem.

The Allred Family said...

Anne, this cracks me up and makes me feel so much better about my life! Sometimes I wonder if we are all going to make it! Anyway, I lvoe reading your blog. Say hi to Craig.
By the way, Pat is in Colorado these days. I talk to her quite a bit. She is doing great!

susan said...

That picture of Sy is so hilarious and cute... the story is also hilarious and cute... except for the stubborn rant (I liked the previous plug better :) )

Maria said...

My oldest girl is on the same path, but she is a SCREAMER, so combine the two and it's sheer torture for me.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the worst mom in he world, but it's a great reminder that not every child in the world is an angel :)

Whitney said...

Ha! I was totally giggling when I read this, only out of sympathy because I feel your pain. Have you ever heard of Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood? It is a great book (that might not be the exact title) that I think is a must-have in every parents arsenal of parenting skills. It is a really easy read.

lacy said...

Hi, it's Lacy from MBASA. Found your blog through the Ning site. Your boys are super cute! So- you need to email me and we need to get together sometime. See you soon.

lacy.anderson@gmail.com

ps, I thought yours was with an "sen", I must have seen it misspelled on a list somewhere.

BIGSKYBLAST said...

Anne, mental HEALTH is the goal of a Mom and this blog proves you're on the right track. It's just fine to admit that the children are monsters when they are (we still love them, though! -- I know that!)

Just remember, Craig and Kyle LIVED, which can be considered a small miracle given MY "mean" tendencies and I think they are GREAT people.

McCurdy Family said...

In the long run being stubborn ultimately gets you what you want- and usually means you'll be successful- its just hard to picture our little terds as possible CEOs when they make you want to scream! Miss you.

Margo said...

I love your blog. I feel your pain with your boys. I think it must be a boy thing. I love my boys but they can just be to darn stubborn at times. You are an amazing mother.