Last night I came home from the gym to find my kids eating some fast food my husband had picked up for them after an outing to the park.
I walked by on my way to the shower, grabbed a french fry off my son's plate, and popped it in my mouth.
Outrage immediately ensued.
There was great wailing and gnashing of teeth by my son at the loss of this beloved fry. His older brother leapt into action:
"Mom!" he shouted at me as he jumped to his feet, "You DO NOT STEAL food!"
I attempted to explain that there were approximately 250 french fries left and, you know, I didn't really think it was that big of a deal. But my older son was having none of it.
"Mommy, no excuses!"
He crossed his arms sternly:
"You need to go to timeout!"
I looked to my husband. He just shrugged. He wasn't wading in. At a loss, I headed into the kids bedroom and sat down in the timeout chair. And I waited.
My kids went back to eating. Every few minutes my older son's voice would ring out down the hallway:
"I will be in to talk to you when I am finished eating this cheeseburger!"
So I stayed put in my chair. About seven minutes later my son appeared in the doorway with a stern look on his face.
"Mommy?" he intoned, "Do you know why you are in timeout?"
I nodded solemnly,
"It's because I stole a french fry."
He sighed in disappointment,
"Yes. Yes you did. And that was wrong."
I told him that I was very sorry.
"It's OK, Mom." he replied, "I'm not mad at you. I just don't want you to do it again. [Pause for effect] Do you understand?"
I nodded and told him that I did.
His face broke out into a wide smile and he threw his arms open.
"OK, now give me a hug and a kiss!"
I hugged and kissed him and he helped me out of my chair. As I headed towards the shower he shouted after me,
"MOM?"
I turned back,
"Never again! Or you'll be RIGHT BACK HERE."
The student has become the master over at our house. How's your week going?
