Surviving the Wooden Spoon.
My daughter showed me a Facebook posting of a printed tee shirt that read I survived the wooden spoon. This gave us a laugh, because I was a fan of the wooden spoon.
We had five children. Someone asked my husband years ago how many children he had. He responded five. The person told him he must be brave. My husband responded brave or foolish, take your pick!
All of my children were mild spirited. They all got along well with each other and others. This made my job as a disciplinarian less stressful. There were rules of engagement which we expected them to follow. If not, they were warned. The last time would be a promise. "If you continue in this behavior, I promise you'll get the wooden spoon, and when you make a promise, what do you have to do?" I'd let them finish. "Keep it" as their eyes would hit the floor!
So the choice was theirs. Rarely ever did I have to use the wooden spoon. If I did, it wasn't in anger, it was fulfilling a promise! But I always kept it in my purse, just for show!
Today, my children are bright, loving, compassionate, and caring people who are loyal, and keep their promises, sometimes to a fault.
Every once in a while though, I think they need to see the wooden spoon. Choices some have made are kind of dumb and stupid, but I have patience and confidence that any weaknesses they struggle with, they will overcome.
So I may have to order 5 of those tee shirts, no 6, one for each of them and one for me!
