Yes you read right. Mommy needed her own time out this week. I don’t scream. I don’t yell. I don’t hit my kids when they’re bad. I’m the mom who crouches low, looks them square in the eye and and sternly informs them of their no good act. If I’m really needing reinforcement, I’ll proceed to slap the back of their hands a few times followed by a one-two-three-four march over to a corner.
.
If one child cries I deal. If another child cries shortly after, I deal some more and patiently hold the line. If both kiddies cry in unison, mommy sometimes needs to hightail it out of there. This was one such week.
.
Avoiding any lash out, I simply fled the scene. All bets off, I raced up the stairs with them chasing my tail, slammed my bedroom door and locked myself in. They knocked madly on the door screamng “Mommy come out!”, but I didn’t answer. “Please mommy please!”, still I kept my cool. Finally I called through the precious walls that separated us and announced: “Mommy needs a time out guys, please step away!”
.
Then there was silence. Peaceful serenity. The kind of silence where I could cuddle under my covers with a good book. The kind of silence where I could meditate. The kind of silence that screamed ” Yes, there is a God!”
.
After approximately 3 minutes of this heavenly silence, I couldn’t take the suspense anymore, I had to know what they were up to. I tiptoed softly to my door and slowly stepped out. Where could the gremlins be? What are they doing?
.
I found them in my eldest’s room in parallel play. One reading, one doodling. That my dear readers is all it took to get my children to stop crying.
.
When the cup runneth over, work mamas don’t fight it. Run for the hills and take your time out.
