Funny, funny Paul. What rules are these? Who says you have to quit stomping just because your balloons were popped? Is there a Hoyles, a Robert's Rules of Order for balloon stomping?
And what kind of freak of nature would stop a boy from stomping balloons on his fifth birthday?
Next time, you should be reincarnated as my son. I'm a pushover as a mom.
I used to let the kids build "spider webs," by taking thread and running round and round and round the coffee table or dining room table, dozens, maybe hundreds of times, and then crawl under the table to play. And I used to let them build "Garfield cars," by taking all the cushions off the sofa and chairs, and a few pillows, and stacking them up in the middle of the living room, with a place to sit in the middle. And they built "time machines" out of cardboard boxes, with places cut out to get in and out, and mechanical doohickeys drawn on the outside. And they loved to use the laundry baskets as "ships" and get in and sail away.
And would you believe me if I said that when Chris came home, and saw this, he would scream and make them stop? And every day, I'd say, "don't scream at them, I let them do it. I said it was ok." But he'd make them stop and put everything back like it was. Every day. I'd let them do it and he'd make them stop.
Oh, he also used to hate it when I'd put them in the sink, when they were little, and let them run the water and play with plastic cups and bowls and wooden spoons. And let them run around and play with the hose outside. Nick still loves to play with the hose, and Chris still screams about it.
And he complains because he had a lousy childhood.
And he complains that no one listens to him.
It's a good thing I don't listen. |
