OK, I've heard my mom's voice come out of my mouth more than a few times since I've become a mother. I knew it would happen, and I've generally been OK with it.
But today, I heard my voice come out of Sam's mouth. And I was appalled.
It wasn't what she said exactly, although that wasn't ideal, either. It was how she said it.
Harshly. Loudly. Impatiently. In a high-pitched, exaggerated, frustrated tone.
It stopped me in midsentence as I was talking to my sister-in-law, and I turned and gaped at her.
And then what did I do? I said, "SAM!"
Harshly. Loudly.
Yeah, you get the idea.
I'm not sure when I adopted this tone with her, but I don't want to continue using it. I wouldn't let someone talk to me that way, and I definitely don't want to talk to anyone else like that -- especially not my 4-year-old.
I think it's a function of having to repeat myself to her ad infinitum. As we've discussed before, patience is not one of my virtues (in fact, there might be some who would argue I lack virtues altogether, but those people would just be telling some sordid college yarns ...). And one of the things I cannot stand -- in addition to doing laundry -- is having to repeat myself.
And repeat myself.
And repeat myself.
And repeat myself.
I thought I had accepted this fact of being a parent, however, and was not letting it affect my interactions with Sam. (Clearly, I'm a finalist for the Most Oblivious Person of the Year award. No need to rub it in.)
How do you handle this facet of parenting?
Leave a comment