My mother and youngest sister, Prudence, recently went to California for her mother's 80th birthday. While there, one of my aunts was harping on how, more than thirty years ago at my grandmother's (third) wedding, when I was a crabby napless toddler, I threw a fit and was sassy to my mother. How could my mother let me get away with it? Why didn't she just spank me? How could we grow up to be disciplined, well-adjusted adults?
This prompted Prudence* to say to my mother, about this aunt's daughter: "She lives in her dad's old double-wide. And that tells you everything you need to know."
*Who is an ICU nurse.
Spanking is such a terrific solution to crabby toddler problems. Cheers em right up.
ReplyDelete... pretty much. I don't claim to have never whacked a toddler under extreme provocation but in general I do try to be positive. Once, on the phone with my mother, I witnessed Bug doing Unspeakable Things with the toiled and sputtered "Bug! BUG! Things in the potty STAY in the potty!" and my mother laughed and said "That was surprisingly positive." A good moment among many bad ones, mind you.
DeleteDUDE. Amazing that this aunt remembered this! It clearly made a HUGE impression on her. And she was so right about you, so right.
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