Ah, Motherhood
Since there are only a few days left in the contest, I thought I'd post again and give another chance to comment!
So Candy Man and I are obsessed with giving The Boy a great childhood. Yes, really. Now don't get me wrong, I understand he needs trials and tribulations to grow and prosper, but he is 7 and has plenty of time for the crap of life.
In this particular instance, The Boy was 5 and the Harlem Globetrotters were in town (said town was St. George, UT...). Our reason for jumping at the chance to take The Boy to see them was two fold: One, we thought he would love their ball throwing antics and Two, after 2 years in St. George, the kid needed to see some....diversity.
So, we buy great tickets. We ooh and ahh over the wonder that is the Globe Trotters. We buy all kinds concession-stand goodness. At the end of game, we purchase a Globe Trotter's designer ball and wait in line to have it signed... this is the stuff boyhood dreams are made of right?
Apparently not.
After getting in the car, the following conversation begins:
TB: "Mom, can I watch some cartoons when we get home?"
Me: "Not tonight. When we get home it's straight to bed."
TB: "You mean you just wasted my time and now I can't even watch cartoons?"
ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS?
First of all, let me assure you, The Boy is still alive and did not sustain any injuries (Candy Man and I vowed not to spank. This vow obviously took place before we actually had a child, but nevertheless, we are spank-free).
He did, however, have to endure his first crazed-parent lecture.
The following tag team lecture including everything from "Are you kidding me?" and "Do you know how much money we spent?" and my personal favorite, "Do you know how many children in Africa have never seen the Globe Trotters?"
Finally, I looked at that ungrateful kid square on and said, "You know what the bottom line is? You are five. Your time is mine to waste."
The car ride home was silent (expect for my occasional sigh and muttering, "wasted my time, I'll show you wasted time, boy).
The Boy has never spoken of wasted time since.
Comments
2.they don't remember and 3. oh yeah, they don't care. So now when you think about using money to expose your kids to some culture, think again and use it on yourself!
And I LOVE your comeback. I *almost* wish my daughter would say I'm wasting her time so I could use it!
1. You want diversity? Come to Sheboygan Wisconsin ... we have diversity of the ying yang. Serious diversity.
2. Out of all the blogs of yours, this is by far my favorite one ... even better than yesterday.
3. I'll babysit for The Boy anytime you need me to, he won't suffer much because this is my typical parenting.
4. You are so flippin' human, I love it.
Rachel
You know what it was for me? My parents took us to see the Men's 1984 Olympics team (Mitch Gaylord and Bart Conner, baby!) do some kind of exhibition.
I only cared that they threw me a rose...
Oh, and this one time when we went to Hawaii, my dad dragged me to the Volcano... I was miserable.
How about my parents dragging me to the World Series game in 1988 - Dodgers v. A's and YES...it was the one where Kirk Gibson hit the homerun. I was miserable the whole time because we had just moved to CA and all of the girls (later known as GLAD Girls!) were having a sleepover at Kim's. I was the "new" girl and had to go late because dad got tickets from work to the game...still have never forgiven them and the husband cringes that I could have cared less about watching Kirk Gibson pump his arms as he ran around the bases!!!
And...Mitch Gaylord? Had the "American Anthem" movie poster in my room in NJ!!!! Too funny...haven't thought about that in a few decades!
M
I'm sure if you ask him about the Globetrotters today, he'll remember them :)!
To give you even more to look forward to.....the same problem works the opposite direction. When I really want to take my boys to something I KNOW they will love and really enjoy (the park, a fair, a concert, a hike, a museum, etc.etc.etc.) - they often argue and don't want to do it. They see it as a waste of time before we even get there. Then we go and oh, yes, well they did have fun. What a surprise, Mom does know a few things. How about just trust me once in a while and not argue. The down side is, they are still anxious to get back home to their usual waste of time (tv, computer, games, etc).
You can't win. You just have to take them and have fun and know that at least YOU can celebrate those memories. :)
Heather M.
I was actually eating my weinerschnitzel chili cheese fries and almost choked on it.