A Family Tradition
A couple of nights ago the boys were in Ryan's bedroom playing on the playstation. Then:
*paaaarp*
5 seconds later:
Cameron: "I am SO outta here" *strides quickly down the hallway to his own room*
Cam closes his bedroom door, turns around, opens his door, comes straight back out into the hallway again and walks back to stand outside Ryan's door. (That's the pull of a playstation game I guess)
Ryan: "It's ok, I've sprayed some deodorant around"
Cam: "And you think deodorant's going to cover THAT?!"
Ryan: *laughs* "It's gone now...I've wafted it around a bit"
Cam: *still standing on the threshold* Yeah whatever, it better have worked, that was extreme. I thought I was gonna hurl."
This reminded me of when I was a kid. My father. Oh...My...God....my FATHER!
Most mornings my mother had trouble getting her 4 offspring out of bed. Eventually she figured out a great way to make us move. One sentence would have us all bounding out of bed in a hurry.
"Does anyone need to go to the toilet before your father gets in there?"
That was like lighting dynamite under us. There was a chorus of "Me!" and we were outta that bed in nano-seconds, scrambling for the loo. Anything to get there before Dad parked up and commenced his morning ritual. Nothing could disguise the aftermath of my father. People that were redecorating would invite my Dad over just so he could use their toilets....after he'd been, the paint would peel so easily off the walls, it was magical! He's a talented man indeed.
So...as tradition demands....and while ex-husband was still under this roof...this sentence was also a sure way for me to get my boys to move in the morning...not so much at the speed of light, but still very effective. I've been saying it for years...since the kids were very small. In fact, it became such a habit, that both my boys will automatically ask anyone that's in the house at the time they need to do their 'business'...if they need to use the toilet first.
When they were little, it was kinda cute. Now that they're bigger it's kinda embarrassing, but I thrive on them still being so considerate. If there were 10 people in the house at the time, they would ask each and every one of them first. You have to answer them, cos they stand waiting for a reply. Trust me on this, I've seen it time and time again over the years.
This is a heads up for you Walker...if either of my kids say that to you while you're here (and habit being what it is, it's certain to happen)...you need to rush for the toilet door first, or just politely answer "no thanks". You can't respond by asking "Why?"...cos then you'll end up with a red faced teen staring at the floor, shuffling from foot to foot, cos he can't bring himself to say "I need to take a crap".
I used this line today because I needed to go to the loo myself. Both kids answered "no thanks" from the comfort of their beds. How nice...it seems I'm sweeter than i thought. I'm going to take their replies as a compliment.
*paaaarp*
5 seconds later:
Cameron: "I am SO outta here" *strides quickly down the hallway to his own room*
Cam closes his bedroom door, turns around, opens his door, comes straight back out into the hallway again and walks back to stand outside Ryan's door. (That's the pull of a playstation game I guess)
Ryan: "It's ok, I've sprayed some deodorant around"
Cam: "And you think deodorant's going to cover THAT?!"
Ryan: *laughs* "It's gone now...I've wafted it around a bit"
Cam: *still standing on the threshold* Yeah whatever, it better have worked, that was extreme. I thought I was gonna hurl."
This reminded me of when I was a kid. My father. Oh...My...God....my FATHER!
Most mornings my mother had trouble getting her 4 offspring out of bed. Eventually she figured out a great way to make us move. One sentence would have us all bounding out of bed in a hurry.
"Does anyone need to go to the toilet before your father gets in there?"
That was like lighting dynamite under us. There was a chorus of "Me!" and we were outta that bed in nano-seconds, scrambling for the loo. Anything to get there before Dad parked up and commenced his morning ritual. Nothing could disguise the aftermath of my father. People that were redecorating would invite my Dad over just so he could use their toilets....after he'd been, the paint would peel so easily off the walls, it was magical! He's a talented man indeed.
So...as tradition demands....and while ex-husband was still under this roof...this sentence was also a sure way for me to get my boys to move in the morning...not so much at the speed of light, but still very effective. I've been saying it for years...since the kids were very small. In fact, it became such a habit, that both my boys will automatically ask anyone that's in the house at the time they need to do their 'business'...if they need to use the toilet first.
When they were little, it was kinda cute. Now that they're bigger it's kinda embarrassing, but I thrive on them still being so considerate. If there were 10 people in the house at the time, they would ask each and every one of them first. You have to answer them, cos they stand waiting for a reply. Trust me on this, I've seen it time and time again over the years.
This is a heads up for you Walker...if either of my kids say that to you while you're here (and habit being what it is, it's certain to happen)...you need to rush for the toilet door first, or just politely answer "no thanks". You can't respond by asking "Why?"...cos then you'll end up with a red faced teen staring at the floor, shuffling from foot to foot, cos he can't bring himself to say "I need to take a crap".
I used this line today because I needed to go to the loo myself. Both kids answered "no thanks" from the comfort of their beds. How nice...it seems I'm sweeter than i thought. I'm going to take their replies as a compliment.
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