It's on the List

I once heard a story about a couple who had been married for many years. On their anniversary, someone asked the woman what her secret to a long marriage was. She responded that when they got married, she made a list of five things her new husband did that drove her crazy. She decided to overlook those faults throughout their marriage. Over the years, when he was doing something annoying, she said she told herself, "Well, that was probably on the list..."

I have often thought of this story. I am not saying my husband is driving me crazy. I was actually thinking more about my kids.

There are days I could let them get the best of me. I could get annoyed. And maybe sometimes I do. But maybe I should just think, "That was probably on the list..."

So here are a few things that are probably on the list...

• the fact that when I go to sit down in my chair in the living room, I always have to move a backpack or two even though every child has hooks for backpack in their room
• finding clothes in the dirty clothes basket that they wore for less than an hour
• trying to leave the house in the morning (in a hurry usually) and finding every light in the house still on...as the kids sit in the cars ready to go
• when I am reading the newspaper, and a child just snatches it up to look closer at a picture
• the crumbs I find on the floor after every single meal
• finding random socks all over the house, no match in sight
• when I have been working on dinner for a few hours only to have a child snarl when I tell them what we are having for dinner then say, "Do I have to eat that?"
• the fact that I find food in our sink all of the time, never rinsed out
• toothpaste all over the counter...often MY bathroom counter. And it isn't my toothpaste
• stepping on hair scrunchies and barrettes as I walk through the house
• the reality that our yard NEVER gets cleaned up after the kids have been outside
• thinking that my dear children have cleaned their rooms only to find things stuffed under their beds
• going to turn on the TV, only to find that it is still set to Wii or PS2
• looking into my van and seeing trash, books, school papers, etc that have been long forgotten...of course, nobody ever claims them
• walking into the kids' bathroom and noticing that the toilet paper is gone and nobody walked the two feet to the cabinet to get a new roll (and also wondering what they have been using!)
• trying to listen to my favorite song on the radio or a relevant talk show as a child chooses that very moment to tell me everything going on in their life...loudly
• finding snippets of Gogurt packages in the scissors drawer
• finding an empty box of Gogurt in the fridge
• getting asked the same question over and over and over (I guess in hopes that I will change my answer)
• sitting down to eat only to have someone ask if I can get them another glass of milk

I could probably go on...it is a lengthy list. :)

So, next time I am feeling flustergated (a made up word that works well in these situations), I will just remember, "No need to get irritated...it is probably on the list."

:)
Reba