When I was a kid, my mom had a prayer taped up in the inside of one of our cabinets. As I recall, it was newsprint. So, accurate or not, I remember it as something she read in the newspaper and thought was really nice. She cut it out and hung it up in the kitchen -- a place we used often so that it could be a daily reminder of the kind of parent she wanted to be. I'm 99% positive it had a line in it about being a patient parent -- A line I remember fairly vividly, because whenever we had a disagreement or when I was pushing her buttons and generally frustrating the living shit out of her, I'd whip open the cupboard door and read the poem to her, making sure to put extra emphasis on the 'having patience' part. Finally, in the midst of one heated argument, I whipped that cupboard door open one too many times. And as I was reading the prayer back to her, in the kind of nasty and exaggerated tone that is almost exclusive to teenagers, she reached across my face, ripped it off the cupboard door in one swipe, crumpled it up into a ball, and slam-dunked it into the garbage with as much force as she could muster. She spun on her heel to face me and said "That prayer does not apply to YOU!" Then she left the kitchen.
I remember it clearly because even then I think I appreciated how appropriate her response was.
So when I came across this little gem the other day, I determined that I would save it until my own kids become teenagers. I plan on taping it up inside the cabinet in the kitchen, and whenever it's appropriate I'll whip open the cupboard door and read it to them. It's not as pretty or well-meaning as that prayer was, but it should serve it's purpose all the same. It certainly reflects the kind of parent I aspire to be, and I think they're gonna' love it.
**
2 comments:
So funny that you remembered the prayer.....Now, my recollection is that I NEVER read it out loud to you, but I did read it silently to myself a lot. So, I'm assuming that you read it alot yourself and somehow, heard my voice in your head as you read it. However, the scene you described as to how it came to be ripped down from the inside of the cabinet door is pretty accurate! God love you---you're getting it, aren't you? (OH--in so many different interpretations of that comment!!!)
I loved your cartoon.
And, I admire the parent that you are.....
xxoo MOM
You're right. You never actually read it to me. And I think I only read it once out of curiosity. Once I knew what it said, I just did my best to use it against you -- you know, all those times that I was smart-assly reading it back to you.
I have no doubts that you read it to yourself -- A LOT! :)
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