Ok so after more than $50,000 in education in psychology you would think I could figure out why there are times people are just grumpy....
I realized that it is generally my own "stuff" that causes grumpiness. For example, I take the girls to the store and I am in a great mood - I can't wait to re-stock the house with food that didn't expire before my birth. Well, by the end of the trip I am pissed off and really hating life - ALL IN LESS THAN AN HOUR my outlook on life went from great to get me the hell out of here!!
I decided to reflect on my feeling (sorry - I will stop the annoying counselor talk) so I came home and rethought the previous hour. Here is what sent me from great to pissed off in 1 hour flat:
4:30pm - Arrive at the store (Daughter driving, can't park without someone dying so she parks as far out in the parking lot as possible). I tripped over a littered cup on the way in the door, of course quickly scanning to see if anyone was laughing at me.
4:31pm - Get into the store and go to get a shopping cart (They are all stuck to each other like a puzzle - this has got to be a joke) I finally wrestle one free and there is some form of substance (most likely snot from the previous child chewing on the bar). I go to grab one of the nice "free" disinfectant wipes the store offers and the bottle is empty. So I wipe the mysterious snot on my pants EWE!!
4:35pm - We enter the actual store and immediately Amber is asking how much money I have in my pocket because she wants something out of those stupid $0.50 vending machines. I have exactly 50 cents, give it to her, the machine eats one of the quarters and now I have to listen to her whine because she didn't get anything. This is a conspiracy by the store since now I have to buy her a toy or something.
4:37pm - Amber is now off and running with the "can I have this', "mom, you have to see this isn't it cool, "mom, can we buy a drink" OK - so I gave into the can I buy a drink bit. So Amber picks up what she calls "SOAP" which is actually "SOBE", I don't pay any attention, she opens it and starts drinking it. No big deal right.... OK until I actually look at it and it is a HIGH ENERGY DRINK......... OH CRAP!!!!! So less than 10 minutes later Amber is running, jumping and screaming "MOM COME LOOK AT THIS - CAN I HAVE THIS, PPPPPLLLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEE???????
4:47pm - I am starting to lose my mind, Mallory disappeared into the make-up isle which I know will only make the grocery bill go up about an extra hundred bucks.... I am not sure where Amber is but I can only imagine that she is in the bakery taste testing anything not glued shut.
5:15pm - The cart is full of make-up (From Mallory) and junk food (From Amber), my hair is standing straight up and I am looking for the beer isle - I don't drink but I am considering the temporary habit to get me through this damn shopping trip.
5:20pm - I receive the items I sent Mallory to get while I got coffee. Mallory was asked to get "meat" I guess I should have been more specific because I didn't notice her put 2 packages of STEAK, a package of Salmon, some shrimp and a couple of filet mignon's in the cart.
5:30pm - We are in line and Mallory is filling the cart with magazines from the rack (all consisting of the same crap - BRITNEY SPEARS IS BALD. I try to ignore her as I am watching the amount of my grocery bill in shock. Amber is sneaking candy and gum onto the conveyer belt and I am choosing to ignore it.
5:30 and 30 seconds - Oh my god!! My grocery bill just reached $330.00......... I pay less than that a month to drive my Volvo...... I pay and leave the store, get in the car after an argument with Mallory that I wanted to drive because it is my car, I am her mother and I need to get home fast. Her response was "I can drive just as fast as you mom" - - that isn't comforting coming from a teenager.
So there it is- my reflection on why I was SO pissed off when I got home, put the groceries away and realized that we were going to have to eat the following: Gum, Candy, Magazines and make-u[ because the only other stuff we got was steak, shrimp and fish..... I guess we are now on the atkins diet because all we have is meat.
UGH..........
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2 comments:
Oh honey I have soo been there. Marlena and I are in the middle of working out "the Gimmes". What is okay to ask for and what is not.
She actually got to a point where she would ask for anything her hands touched, such as "Mom!! You have to see this! I really need it!!" "Marlena, that's a can of herring."
We had a whole month where she couldn't ask for anything new, and now we are working on her being able to really look at things in a store and ask after we have wandered through. It's tough.
I do let her choose various agreed upon items in the store, which helps a lot, but basically, I shop while she is in school.
I love you!! Enjoy your meat, maybe the candy can be melted down into a tasty glaze?
I feel your pain! I also try to shop without kids (mainly, Hannah and Simon) or I am really mad when I leave the store. I generally agree to one treat and they alway do that, "Oh mom, can I have..." through the shole store. Grrr. Luckily, out here there is a grocery store that has a kid drop off place!! I love Wegman's I don't care how much it costs. The peace of mind that I have shopping with only one kid and getting only what I want to get is so very worth it!!!!
I think the formula you need to use is as follows.
Children = Stress (and gray hair!)
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