Single Parenting Licked

Image from google.com.

Just when I think I’ve got my kids pegged, they go and surprise me by doing something totally out of character.  Now this can go both ways.  I can be thinking how well behaved, responsible and trustworthy they are and then they go and shatter this illusion in one foul swoop by doing something completely ridiculous.  Alternatively, I can be despairing over them and beating myself up for being an inadequate parent and then they’ll floor me by their goodness and maturity. 

I was feeling relaxed and pampered after a morning at the hair salon and as busy Mums know; this couple of hours is equivalent to a weekend away at a spa in pre-motherhood days!  However, I felt the feelings of tranquillity leaving me as I waited outside the classroom to pick up El Nino from her morning at nursery. I felt apprehensive and found myself nonchalantly hiding queueing behind the other parents.  I was in fear that the ‘Can I have a quick word and let’s put a system in place to help her’ teacher would be lurking, ready to pounce on me and haul me inside for another little chat.  What a relief when she did not appear and little Miss Challenging came skipping out the door with not one but two stickers firmly taped to her jacket. She exclaimed in a loud voice for all to hear, “I didn’t hit anyone today!” Taking care not to make eye contact with the other parents, we beat a hasty retreat and I congratulated my little one on the improvement in her behaviour! 

The next hurdle which could have diminished my serenity went especially well also.  I arrived home to be greeted by my teenager.  As parents of teenagers are well aware, it can be hard to gauge the presence of mind of adolescents and so it’s always best that they are approached with caution.  Say too little and they think you don’t care; ask one question too many and you will have your head bitten off and be accused of nosiness! But not today, she came bounding toward me and announced that she had just vacuumed the entire upstairs and had even done the stairs; a task which many husbands only perform under duress and then go on to expect profuse congratulations for as though they have spring cleaned the entire house!  I swallowed my initial reaction of ‘I wonder what she wants’ and thanked her enthusiastically!  This was progress indeed.  I had no idea that she would have been able to locate the whereabouts of the vacuum cleaner as on numerous other occasions when I’d asked her to take care of this for me while I was out; she had been unable to find where I had hidden it!

If having two out of my four children surprise and delight me weren’t enough in one day, my two boys added to this merry contentment when they chose their Friday night viewing material.  They decided to watch a couple of episodes of David Attenborough’s, Planet Earth.  People who know my boys well will know that this is a major departure from their usual, madness and mayhem viewing diet. 

So just for this day and probably this day only, I congratulated myself for being a fabulous, freshly coiffed Mum, who was capable of raising well behaved, delightful and helpful children who chose of their own volition on occasion to watch educational programmes.  It is these 'I've got this single parenting game licked' kind of days that give me the strength and courage to keep a smile on my face and persevere through the abundance of not so easy days when I could quite happily strangle give my children away for free!