The Hand Swiper

Harry Potter Books 1-7
Photo Courtesy of Lunch.

Ah, Smiley and Pierre; the most pleasant children to babysit.  Most of the time I enjoy watching them. This particular night, however, was absolutely terrible.

It all started off with smiles and happy little boys eating dinner.  Soon after, they gravitated to the television for their two shows.  After burying me under blankets and pillows, they calmed down and watched tv.  I have learned to hate children's shows with a passion.  Honestly, I am sending out an apology to every family that watches Martha Speaks with their children.  I hate that show the most.

When the torture ended, I said to the boys, "Okay, it's time to brush your teeth!  Whoever goes fastest wins!!!!!!"

Both boys responded, "No....  We want to play a game!"

They do this every time I am over.  No parent plays a game at 8:00 because it makes them crazy.  I would be more than happy to play a game before tv, but they never ask to then.

Their eyes filled with tears, but Pierre, being the mature one, stopped himself from shedding tears and went downstairs.  But, at the bottom was Smiley blocking the path.  Too much went down quickly after, so just imagine a lot of chaos.

At last, things had settled down, and it was time to read Harry Potter (not sure which book number).

With sweet little eyes, Pierre asked, "Can I read the first page?"

Being as tired as I was, I said that he was more than welcome to read.  This did not settle well with Smiley.  He started yelling at Pierre and me about how bad he was at reading and la la la la.  Pierre and I tried to ignore him as he started the first page, but he was swiping his hand across the words.  I told Smiley that I would take a marble out of his jar if he didn't stop right away.  Well, he didn't listen.

Remember when I said that I needed to work on following through with punishment?  I did this time.  I walked up stairs and took a marble out of his jar which caused A TON of tears to spill.

Fortunately, I was able to make peace with the boys and we read a few pages of the book.  By time they were asleep, I was quite exhausted.

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Now that you have read that story, I hope that you can remember these three things:

1. Sometimes chaos in unavoidable, but you have to role with punches and be the calm one. 
2. Play games before tv.
3. Follow through with punishments. 

Observation Diary #1: The Sweet Ignorance of Childhood

Is ignorance bliss?  Some of you would say no, yes, or (like myself) would say sometimes.   Looking back at my childhood, I remember being so ignorant.  This is for the simple reason that I was not aware of the true struggles life throws in the mix of other things that cause a great deal of stress.  As a young girl, I thought that everything would work out perfectly in the end.  However, I know think that it is better to have all of the knowledge possible.  By knowing, you can understand why things happen the way they do.  You can also have a realistic grasp of the world.  Now I will share with you one of the most angering experiences I experienced while babysitting Smiley and Pierre which so clearly explains what I am talking about above...

Here in Utah the air is extremely dry which causes many people to have dry skin.  Pierre happens to be one of those unlucky people.  We had gotten back from swimming and I remember that Rainbow told me to apply lotion on Pierre's cheeks. (Note, Rainbow is the code name for their mom because she is happy, and loves to change her hair color frequently)

Being the responsible person that I am, I said, "Pierre, we need to put lotion on your cheeks so that the dryness will go down."

Original Graphic by Claire

"WHY!!!!!?????" was his response.

Through a deep breath I explained, "You don't want your skin to get red or irritated!"

"But your skin has a bunch of bright red dots everywhere," Pierre beamed proudly at me.

In case you didn't already figure out what these "red dots" are, they are acne.  Like many teenagers, I am acne prone.  The frustrating part about it is that I have tried so hard to get "rid" of it.  Nothing has worked for my red dotty skin.  Yet, everyday I put a false smile on my face and pretend it isn't there.

When Pierre said this I was fighting back tears and put on my infamous false smile.  Afterwards, I really thought about why he had said this to me in the first place.  For starters he is ignorant to other people's feelings as most six year olds are; a fourteen year old would never say this!  During childhood, you don't bother to think about how your words can effect others in the long run.  I really wish Pierre had thought before he spoke because every time I look in the mirror I remember his words.

Overall, that simple conversation between us has never left me.  I carry the rude message everywhere I go.  I've also learned that childhood is so great because you aren't thinking about the impacts of your actions.  Little kids rarely over-think the context of their sentences.  Also, I realized how badly I want to go back to being six were I didn't have hours of homework, social drama, having to play sports for graduation credit, writing essays, memorizing countries and so much more.  Man oh man, I miss the sweet ignorance of childhood.