Sunday, October 25, 2009

H * U * S * T * L * E

Hustle. That's all I'm asking for. I would like my kids to learn to hustle. I'm tired of standing out in the rain by their car doors while they slowly meander over for me to strap them in. I'm tired of saying "grab your shoes and let's go" and having them decide that it is a good time to look for a pair of shoes that have been missing for a month.

I've learned the hard way that trying to make the Big Guy hurry up by pulling him toward the car produces the exact opposite result. He digs his feet into the ground and refuses to budge. The girls aren't quite so difficult, but they don't seem to feel any inclination to hurry. Is double-time too much to ask for? I've tried to be cutesy and sing the Madagascar song "move it, move it", but that just makes them stop what they are doing and join in the song.

There is a part of me that wonders about the psychology of always telling the kids to hurry up. Am I teaching them to be just like me...always stressed that I'm late when I almost always arrive places early? I don't want to teach them that...but I hate the stress it gives me when I've allowed 5 minutes for them to get their shoes and coats on and it somehow takes them 20!!!

I find myself doing everything for them just so we can hurry up. It shouldn't be faster for me to put on three pairs of shoes, put on three jackets, and shove them into the car than for them to individually do those things themselves. Arghhh. Hey, wait a minute. Maybe they are being slowpokes on purpose because they know if they stall long enough I'll do it all for them.

Maybe next my next blog post will be about S * E * L * F S * U * F * F * I * C * I * E * N * C * Y.

1 comment:

  1. Did you read my mind????? ;)

    I've been thinking this a lot lately too, mostly about the little one - so maybe that is hope that they do pick up the pace eventually...like when they are 11 and 12! But if I have to wait another 10 minutes for her to tie her shoe "just because she can," I will probably pull my hair out.

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