Nov. 13, 2008
Dirtbikes and Habit Training
Posted in Habits
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One of the things I love about my husband is that he works very hard to provide for us. He works really hard. He is a professional firefighter and works 24 hour shifts. During his shift, he may get a couple of hours of sleep and be out at all hours of the night helping people. While we are snug in our beds, he is out there taking verbal abuse from those experiencing drug overdoses, those who made a bad decision while driving or from those who have been in pain for the last 12 hours and thought that 3am is a good time to call for help. He also sees stuff that the rest of us couldn't even imagine. I realize he censors what he tells me and that is all bad enough. All of that said, he loves his job. He gets off at 7am and drives about 1.5 hours to get home. I try really hard to convey to the children that daddy deserves to come home to a house that is straightened up. He works hard and the least we can do is make sure he has a clear path to the bed so he can rest when he gets here. Somehow, last night, I missed our dirt bike that was sitting out on our sidewalk. The kids had it out yesterday and failed to put it away. They also failed to pick the helmets up out of the yard. This morning he came home and found our dirtbike out on the sidewalk. That made him really angry. I feel that I talk until I am blue in the face and the children just don't seem to be listening. I think the problem is the lack of consequences for bad habits. So this morning, the dirt bike was the straw that broke the camel's back. When I first thought of grounding them, I thought that would be the best thing to do. Then I remembered all the stuff on our calendar for the next two days and started to reconsider. Here is another great thing about my husband, he helped me to see that they may just have to miss these things this time. Although I am following through with this grounding for two days, my heart is breaking because of what they will miss. At the same time, I'm thinking, "Woohoo! I don't have to drive anywhere today!" Is that wrong? |
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Nov. 16, 2008 - Consequences & Punishment
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