Kathryn took this picture....I think rainbows are magnificent. And I am in a happy mood today, happier than usual, maybe. That it because once again, we are helping the economy: we bought a new dryer AND a new washer. YAY! Oh, I am SO housewifey! I remember a few weeks ago when Paul bought me the nice shiny stainless steel fronted stove with lots of burners on the top, and I was so glad for it, and I said to him, "I can't help but drool over the spiffy washers and dryers....", as we walked past them. Little did I imagine that I would be actually getting a matched pair just a few weeks later! Did I mention how excited I am? We got our washer at least 10-12-maybe 14 years ago from Sam's club. Just a simple large capacity washer....but it hasn't been spinning properly for months now. Sometimes it take all day long to get a load to spin. And when the laundry is piling up....anyway, we decided that since we got a check from the insurance company for $23oo, we may as well spend it on a washer, too. Paul and I just got home from buying them. We had a nice time together, just us and Jonathan. Jonathan who made it just nerve-wracking enough....he was so excited about all the appliances, he was like, "Mom, look at this. Dad, this one is neat. This one opens this way. I like this one. Don't you like the blue one, Mom?" I tried to see things from his point of view, and talk to him about things instead of just telling him to be quiet. Which was what I felt like doing. There were two little boys running around like monsters with no parents in sight. Then the dad started looking for them, and instead of going towards the dad, one of the boys took off the other way. The dad came around close, and I pointed in the direction of the boy, and the dad caught him by the arm, and started in on him....just a bit rough, but it always makes me get teary-eyed. I know I have the exact same potential, I was tempted just a few minutes before that to tell my own sweet Jon to just shut up.....but this dad has obviously never heard the gospel before, hasn't been encouraged to work on his own salvation with fear and trembling...but hopefully tonight when he is lying in bed, he will remember how he was with his boy, and he will cry, and ask God to help him be more gentle and more patient. I am of course praying for this....
Then we went into Aldi for some tortilla chips, salsa, tomatoes, milk, bagels, whole wheat rolls, water bottles (bad for the environment, good for the economy, and great when the kids take their lunches, and I was thirsty!), sour cream, black olives, candy bars, and some other things I can't remember, all for $22. Not bad.
Paul is putting dinner on the table while I sit here, and I am starting to feel guilty.....Camille is ripping up the napkins....
4 comments:
Yeah for new appliances!! You deserve it. Look for your care "package" this week:)
Blessings
Kim Chrisman
Oooh congrats on the new washer and dryer! I just got a new set a few months ago when mine died, and I know how exciting it is! If you think about it, we spend the majority of our day doing laundry or working in the kitchen, so who wouldn't be thrilled at getting a new washer or stove? That is something special:-) What kind of washer/dryer did you decide on? Did you get a front loader or top loader?
I am by no means trying to defend the dad who maybe was a bit rough on the little boy who ran....but I hope you'll think about the little boy and his possibilities. Perhaps the possiblity that he is autistic. My son runs, and as you know, he is autistic. Many times it can appear that he is simply a bratty kid but knowing what I know, I can tell you there are a LOT of parents with autistic kids whose children run.
Autistic cans most often cannot be picked out in a crowd because most don't have any outward traits to make them "look" autistic. Again, many of them just appear to be acting like brats.
Before I was a parent, I would have thought many kids who are autistic were simply kids whose parents needed some parenting lessons. These kids don't "get it" much of the time and all the discipline in the world is sometimes ineffective.
I guess what I'm trying to say - and I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries - but it appears that you are judging the parent and their skills because these two children were running.
We can't hold their hands ALL the time......I'm rambling....I guess I just feel a need to defend kids who act out in public because we just never know - REALLY KNOW - which ones out there who are acting like brats are really doing what they are doing because they are autistic and have impulse control problems.
Thanks for the exhortation, I do agree with you that I didn't know the reasons or the story behind those boys. In fact they were really cute little boys. They WERE little though, and their parents really weren't watching them at all. They were just playing tag in the appliances while their parents shopped around. When the littler one ran the other way when the dad was calling him, he obviously wanted to play hide and seek with his dad, too. It is just that when the dad grabbed this child, this dad who was very very big and strong, and this boy was very small, it was very rough. And I know that I have the very same tendencies, we all do. I have an older son who has certain compulsions, and a one track mind, and when he was younger, heaven help all of us if he decided he wanted something in the store. Jonathan has been like that too. He gets stuck on ideas, and nothing can sidetrack him. So I wasn't referring to the kids' behaviour, but rather the reaction of the dad. And I truly am not judging him, either. I just wish I could click my heels together three times and give every parent the patience they need to deal with their kids when they are being challenging. Because it seems to always take SO much of it, and I know for me, I never have enough. So I guess what I'm saying is that we can't always control our children's behaviour, sometimes not at all, but we are responsible for ourselves, and how we are to them. It can be impossibly hard to remain in goodness, and who hasn't lost it and yelled, or worse? But when I react like that, it brings me into need before God. And I wish that every parent would also have that need in them, to work on their own salvation, so that no matter how their kids are, they can be there for them....judging themselves and praying for more patience. Thanks for your comment, I have learned so much from reading your blog. I know I tend to be pretty critical, so please please don't hesitate to straighten me out when necessary, you are not overstepping any boundaries.
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