1: "Get off my BED!!!"
3: "Why are you screaming at me? Why is it such a big deal?!"
1 "I have to scream at you because when I ask you to get off, you don't get off unless I scream at you!"
1,2,3: Variety of yelling, screaming and high pitched harumphing.
Maybe I am ignoring them. I'd better see if I can model some problem solving skills for my beloved daughters.
Me: Do we live in a big house or a small house?
1,2,3: A small house.
Me: Do you have lots of private things and spaces or actually just one private space in the whole apartment?
1,2,3: Just one private space
Me: And what is that private space?
1,2,3: My bed
Me: That's right. Your bed is your one private space that is just for you. You do not have to share it. However, because your bed is your one private space it also gives you an opportunity to be generous. You can extend an invitation to a friend or a sibling to sit or play on your bed and that should be recognized as an act of generosity. In this house, you are not expected to agree all the time. You ARE expected to be kind and respectful to each other. If someone says you cannot go on their bed, I will back them up on that.
Below: This is how we fit five kids into one bedroom (crib left of door)
I'm actually happy that I get to share my bed with someone I love, but it does make me wonder, what is my private space? I share a desk, a computer, a dresser, a closet and a cell phone. Honestly, there is usually somebody reading over my shoulder. My only privacy is in my thoughts. Generally, I want to share those as well. Maybe since my thoughts are the only things that are truly mine, sharing them is the only way I can be generous. So like Dogberry of Much Ado About Nothing, I bestow all my tediousness on you. ;)
4 comments:
Now I'm bummed I've been off blogs all summer. I missed some great stuff from you. I'm so glad you're my sister. I learn so much from you. I'm going to go buy vital wheat gluten this very day. And I think I'll give the reading fairy and evil witch things a go. (Although I don't have a witch hat. I've got a Sherlock Holmes hat, so maybe I'll be the Inspector Detector.) Thanks for the awesome ideas.
I think my kids are having trouble sharing, too. Last night, Curly Fry screamed out in his sleep, "No! My Turn!"
Your place looks great! I'm glad that you're so generous. I love hearing your thoughts.
i think your kids are going to have such fun memories of sharing their space when they grow up.
you are a great story teller - i'm glad you share your thoughts!
thank goodness for rubbermaid!
So much to be grateful for! I wish I could use your gluten tip. My gluten tip is "gluten-free foods that would normally contain gluten are gross". Going gluten free means thinking of sandwiches never and salads more, instead of trying to make sandwiches yummy even without gluten.
I'm so excited for Torpedo to be using the potty. What a relief. I laughed out loud about the "no gloves" business.
And I'm very inspired by your mirage analogy, especially the body image part. I will say one thing. I have found that I am not happy without a clean house, and I am happy with a clean house. I don't really think that breaks your rule though. In fact, a clean house actually improves my body image most of the time, too.
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