https://dailymotion.com/video/x61m9hl

Today was one of those days that reminded me of Claire in the hit show “Modern Family.”  David and I love that show, because we are Claire and Phil to a T.  I’m the one that always has the schedule we have to stick to, and I usually take the kids to their different practices and watch out for their school commitments.  I tell David when he/we need to show up to school, and he’s there.  But he’s the “fun parent.”  He’s the one that’s great at play wrestling and playing sports, and making them laugh.  Well today I was off of work sick, and yet I still sucked it up to take my boy to soccer and my daughter to cheerleading practice since David was working.  I made them dinner BEFORE practice since I knew we would get home late, and I called them in with plenty of time to eat.  Yet my son had been too busy playing his PlayStation 4, so he hadn’t done ONE THING to get himself ready for soccer, and my daughter came in whining that she had to leave her friend;s house early.  I told them I would be very happy to stop spending my time and money on travel soccer and competitive cheer if they didn’t want to do it anymore.  Of course they were like, “NO!”  I set their dinner down in front of them, and I fought with Zoe to eat the whole plate so she wouldn’t be hungry.  I told Kole to eat, and he sat the whole time complaining about the noises and faces Zoe was making, so he ate a total of like 3 bites.  I finally told him he had to go get ready because we had 5 minutes and I would meet him in the car.  I got them both to practice on time, picked them both up on time, and what was the first thing they said?  “I’m STARVING!!”  So I came home and made some popcorn, but they fought the whole time about having to share it, the noises the other was making, chewing too loud, etc…then ended up leaving 1/4 of it there because they were both too full to eat it.  I had a total Claire moment.  I was like, “I’m DONE.  I’m done being bad cop and referee!  That’s going to be daddy’s job from now on!  I’m going to be the FUN parent!”  Well if you’ve seen the episode, or if you choose to watch above, you know it turns out horribly.  All the kids end up crying at the end of the episode, and Claire and Phil both realize that they need to stay in their roles.

Most of the time I don’t mind being bad cop.  Someone has to do it.  I have to make sure the kids get to the bus, get dinner, get to practices on time, get to bed on time.  I check/help with homework and make sure they have what they need for school events.  It’s just there are times after a rough day like today that a “Thanks, Mom” and a hug or a kiss would go a long way.  Does anyone else out there ever experience this?

I LOVE my kids, and they’re GREAT kids.  But I think sometimes in this age of social media, instant downloads, “reality tv,” and “you tube channel sensations,” kids forget that growing up takes hard work, and it doesn’t just happen on its own.  The dishes in the sink don’t magically disappear, and the dinner doesn’t make itself.  The other day I told the kids we couldn’t go out to eat because we didn’t need to spend the money.  They said, “Just use your card.  It already has money on it.”  I had to explain to my 9 and 6-year old that the only money that’s on our debit card is the money from our bank account, and that it was more important that we pay the bills than go grab some crap fast food.  Does anyone have any decent ideas of how to show kids real life in a safe environment?  Allowance that they spend on their own snacks at the concession stands and ice cream truck and such, or just make them do without?  I would LOVE to hear suggestions!