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No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service
Although the fringe benefits of being a stay-at-home mom are for the most part intangible, to me they are often considered priceless.
Beside the fact that I get to watch my children grow and participate in their milestones, the possibility of sleeping in on some mornings and having a dress code limited to clean
sweats or pajamas isn't bad either. Make-up and a nice "do" are usually saved for special occasions.
Lately however, I've found that in those ways I haven't been setting a very good example for my children. It's no wonder that
they ask "Where are we going?" when I put on a pair of jeans and ask them to get dressed. I'm beginning to realize why I spend more
time at their grandma's looking for shoes and socks than I do actually visiting. They've seen me shoe and sockless more often
than not and are accustomed to my casual attire.
The conversation I had with my three year old this morning has sparked an otherwise non-existant desire to change my ways. When
I called him to the bathroom this morning so I could comb his hair he asked, "Did Dad?". Obviously, whether or not I managed to comb
my hair yet didn't count. I told him, yes, his dad had combed his hair this morning.
"Did you see him?"
Now this was a trick question. I'm usually not coherant when my husband leaves for work in the morning. Was he testing my ability to
wake and be observant before 7:00 a.m., or was he questioning my honesty? I'm usually not sensitive to my sleeping habits and casual
dress. As an at-home mother I believe I have those rights. But my three-year-old would soon start school and realize that breakfast will
be served much earlier than 10:00 a.m. and that he's got to comb his hair everyday whether his dad did or not.
At that moment I realized that things around our house needed to change. I made a goal that from that day forward I would try to be out of
bed by 7:00 in the morning. I'm going to refuse to serve them breakfast unless they are dressed with their hair combed (wearing their PJ's and
a baseball cap won't count). Of course I will be dressed with my hair combed and after a month or two of conditioning, might add make-up to
my morning routine. I will try as hard as I can to be cheerful and positive and show my children that it is true that the early bird
does get the worm. I'll just have to convince them that the worm is worth getting!
Click here to read other articles by Shannon.
Copyright © Shannon is webmaster to a website that offers Premade Scrapbook Pages that tell interesting facts about the day a person was born or married. Reprinted with permission.
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