Moms, Do You also Survive on Fairy Tale Hope?
Fairy Tale Hope.
This a phrase I just made up so let me define it for you. I told my boys to put the last of the dinner plates and cups in the dishwasher while I finished getting ready.
We all needed to leave.
I’m upstairs for just a few minutes when I hear laughing and screaming and running and chasing. I’m sure the scene downstairs is not of angelic boys completing a chore, but of a frenzied scramble to find a Nerf gun, a pillow from the couch, a sword, a shield, or something to dominate each other.
I hear the thump of a takedown, the cry of victory, the call of revenge….
And yet, there is a part of me that really truly thinks they really are cleaning up.
Maybe they are just having a lot of fun lining the dishes in neat rows. I am sure pillows aren’t strewn about and no one is tangled in a wrestling move. The dishes are not teetering awkwardly on each other facing the wrong direction from being hastily thrown in.
No, that is not happening.
Okay, so it probably is happening. The downstairs has erupted into a den of untamed lions and the dishwasher probably won’t close because of the ridiculousness.
And yet…
The hope is still there. A little part of me still thinks – really thinks – they just might be doing what they are supposed to be doing.
And if they are not and I stall for a few more minutes before going downstairs maybe – just maybe – they will pull it together and get the chore done correctly.
Fairy. Tale. Hope.
It’s an ingredient to my motherhood survival and continual pressing on.
Fairy. Tale. Hope.
Have you been there too?
Do you want a simple way to connect with your kids?
One of my favorite things to do as a family is to go out to eat (and it’s a treat, we can’t do this all the time), and while we wait for our food, pick one or two conversation starters to discuss.
I’m not joking when I tell you sometimes a question hits just right, and we spend 20 minutes contemplating who we would take on a cross-country road trip with us.
There are 400+ questions, so something should hit just right too with your family. If you want a fun way to connect, check the conversation starters out here.
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Cheryl is a mom of 3 boys, wife, speaker, high school teacher, and author of Empowered Moms & Kids. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and is passionate about learning and teaching. On www.empoweredmomsandkids.com you’ll find inspiration and encouragement for moms raising tweens and/or teens. Read more in the “about” section of this page.
