While driving home the other day, I noticed a mini-van parked on the side of the highway, with a mom standing in the grass, trying hard to go unnoticed. After looking closer, I realized she was standing in front of her child and saw a stream of liquid coming from him. Clearly her son could not wait to stop at a rest stop. If I was not a parent of a toddler, I would most likely be judging her. However, I have some experience in traveling with this age and have actually done this with Abby before. Granted, I try to find a place a little more private (not right before an exit, as in the case of this family), but when a child has to go, they have to go. That is actually how I find out if Abby really has to go or if she is just looking for an excuse to get out of the car. If she thinks she has to go on the side of the road, suddenly she can hold it for a little while longer.
This got me to thinking of all the things I swore I would never do as a parent before actually having kids. I'll list a few now and to all the other parents reading this, feel free to add on!
I will never feed my children fast food.
I will not allow my kids to have a temper tantrum in a public place.
My kids will never have sugar before dinner.
I will always have patience and not lose my temper with my kids.
I will not allow my children to disrupt a church service.
My kids will always be well groomed in public.
I will not use food as a way to distract my kids while shopping.
I will not bargain with my children to get them to do something.
Any other humbling thoughts?
1 comment:
If there's anything I've learned from my parent-friends, it's that my only "never" phrase is:
I'll never say "never!"
You've all taught me well. :)
For the record, I dropped my drawers on the side of the road several time while driving through west Texas. No rest areas, no fast food restaurants, and certainly no trees to hide behind. Sometimes you just have to be shameless and not care what people think!
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