Payback

Every time your child does something that makes you scream “YOU DID WHAT?!?” you take a deep breath and think “one day they will have children of their own.”  This internal refrain helps you keep your tenuous grip on sanity.  It becomes your mantra during “one of those days” where you can’t imagine what you could have done to deserve this. 

Oh wait, someone will be happy to tell you.  Just pick up the phone and call your parents.  They’ll probably have a extensive list, lovingly preserved in your baby picture album.  They’ll listen to you rant and rave about your children, while unsuccessfully muffling their laughter during your phone call.

To illustrate, a scene from our household:

Joyce, while loudly stomping up the stairs: "I HATE putting up my clothes! Why can't I leave them in the basket? Why do I have to put them in my dresser?"

I remember having this EXACT conversation with my mother on numerous occasions, until an embarrassingly old age.  I would let my clothes pile up in the laundry room until the dryer couldn’t be opened due to the towering stack.  I didn’t see the point of either folding them or hanging them up, since I was just going to wear them again so they would get dirty, right? 

I’m sure my mother had her internal monologue going during those conversations.  Well, she was right.  I did have children of my own, and now it’s her turn to muffle her laughter during phone calls.  

I just hope I can manage to contain my glee when it's my turn.