My husband, Garth (not his real name) is really good at not panicking, especially dealing with an emergency situation; when, considering I took to Twitter when my middle girl's butt exploded, clearly I am not.
On the other hand, I have made it my life's mission to NOT sweat the small stuff AND have consistently failed said mission (it was more like a guideline, anyway, really) for the last…ummmm, let's see…how old IS my oldest kid, again?!?
Aaaaanyway, point being (and I really do have one, promise) Garth (not his real name) and I have taken to handling this whole…parenting teens is hard, YO!…by tag-teaming each other, sort of like professional wrestlers would…during a no holds barred steel cage death match.
Blindfolded, with one arm tied behind our backs and buck-naked.
Like, the other night, when my youngest asked for help with an essay and then kept insisting on either disagreeing with or fighting me on ANY and ALL help that was being offered.
My husband walked in through the front door just in time to hear me holler, "Then, why BOTHER asking ME for help?!?"
[ding-ding-ding]
He rolled up his sleeves, loosened his tie and pushed me…every so gently, yet firmly…you know…out of the way.
"I got this!"
Or, whenever Contradictory Boy shows up (a.k.a. our 14 year-old son's alter ego) and clashes with the gravitational forces on my husband's forehead, causing a massive facial implosion and one gosh-darned scary-looking unibrow.
[ding-ding-ding]
"Sooooooo, how DOES one go about creating a character in World of Warcraft?"
We ARE the King and Queen of Distraction (a.k.a. SziSzi of Pandaria) and, well, whatever works, right?!?
Long story, short (you're welcome!) I've been driving our oldest to and from work (she's saving for a car, we live in Jersey, enough said!) sometimes even on the days when I don't need to use the car (see last parenthesis) unless it snows.
"You don't want to transfer your fear onto her, do you?"
Now that we have a kid driving (and ANOTHER one driving, this spring) the panic that sets in goes way beyond the fact that I don't do snow and, well, Eastern-European-types aren't very good at keeping a straight face; we pretty much suck at poker, too.
"Noooooo, but don't expect me to stop worrying…DAMMIT…and ANOTHER thing…"
[ding-ding-ding]
Aaaaand, that's when he shoved a slushy snowball down the front of my pajamas.
"WTF, dude?!?!?!?!?"
Although, it worked long enough for me to stand there and forget just what in the heck we were talking about, I am STILL a little confused by his tactics.
© 2003 – 2013 This Full House
Comments
63 responses to “Parenting Tip #45,371,381: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – Shove a Slushy Snowball Down Someone’s Shirt, Instead!”
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
LOL! Great teamwork. I like how you people think.
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
Heh, thanks 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
You are sooo right you can’t sweat the small stuff but you have every right to worry like he double toothpicks about your teenage drivers. I know I worried about mine but you just do everything you can to keep them safe and lay down a lot of ground rules. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
LOL…Seems like you’re venting more than providing a parental tip. In any case it was an entertaining and amusing read. 🙂
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Perhaps a little bit of both, even 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
Nice team working.yeah its really true. It’s so hard to look after teenagers. We have to give their freedom and have to make sure whether they are safe as well.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.
With a couple of teenagers myself I know how hard it can be as at that age the think they know everything. You can never stop worrying about them but at the same time you need to give them some freedom in order for them to be able to find their own identity.