With my Irish twins, running errands or anything that takes away from "fun" is quite simply exhausting. They make it very clear that they'd rather be doing anything else - and using the "helper" card only works occasionally. Although I can understand their perspective, (I'd rather be playing make believe than picking up pet food), mommies have to do what mommies have to do, a queen must tend to her castle, so to speak - (woops, that's my make believe when I'm tackling the kitchen or laundry!). So instead of dreading these unpleasant hiccups in our usually kid-centric day, I decided to look at it from their point of view. It's one of many tips I've learned from other mommies that have been there, done that ... Tip: to be on their level. For example, sometimes communication between a parent and a child becomes a more positive experience if you make yourself eye-level. I find if I sit down next to where my kid is standing and talk to him it's a more calming experience for both of us. Okay, so I practiced the literal meaning of point of view, but I didn't truly adopt the concept, at least not until this revelation.
Instead of the usual shenanigans during the foyer tango of getting them ready and out the door, I sat down next to where they were playing superheroes. After a few motivational mommy minutes, we were off on a mission. Costumes? check. Masks? check. Mission and gadgets? check. Off we went to save the world, one errand at a time. ..guarding mommy while she deposited checks at the bank, protecting our cart from bad guys at Trader Joes, and after a mission accomplished, we rewarded ourselves with a superhero picnic at our Top Secret location (translated to lunches packed in Spiderman lunchboxes, eaten at a local park), while we giggled about the day's adventure!
Mommy...the original superhero! (Lasso? check).
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