I trip to
JoAnn’s could be sporadic, just because I wanted to work on something new. If I
were in a sewing mood, I’d search out a pattern that said, Easy, 90-minute
pattern. The project always turned out to take me 90 minutes, each day, for
a week. I didn’t care, I was creating. My kids had a different outlook on our
visits to JoAnn’s.
When it was
time for a trip to JoAnn’s, I had to subpoena my kids. I gave them a note
written in Red crayon that said, Get in the car. Now.
As we pulled into the store parking lot, the first thing my kids saw were the 50-foot
letters (it seemed to them) that spelled JOANN’S. They slumped in their seats and
cried out, “Nooo, do we have to go in? Can we stay in the car?”
“No, we’re
shopping together. You can select a craft project.”
“But you
take too long. I don’t want to do a craft that bad.”
We made I through
several shopping trips in that manner. It later dawned on me that I stumbled upon
a new form of discipline. Many believe that spanking is bad and prefer to take
away privileges. Here was yet another form of discipline. I was giving my kids
something, not taking away. I was giving them the opportunity to explore a
craft store.
If my kids
were misbehaving, all I needed to say was, “Let’s take a trip to JoAnn’s.”
Together the two of them resembled an Octopus. Their arms and legs were
swinging and swaying, their faces contorted into monster shapes. We went to the
store anyway and they whined and moaned, while customers stared.
I was sure someone
was going to contact child protective services, believing that I was harming my
kids. So, we quickly left the store with my kids smiling believing they had
won. After they strapped on their seatbelts,
I drove them straight to…Michael’s Crafts.
It was tough
love, but somebody had to do it.
What family
stories are you finding humorous lately?
What family
stories are you finding humorous lately?
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