WON'T GIVE UP!

You would think by this time in my life I would have learned this one valuable lesson; children will rarely participate at the same level of my fantasies!  BUT I JUST CAN’T SEEM TO GIVE UP THAT HOPE!

Perhaps I’m just a glutton for punishment and disappointment; perhaps I just need to maintain hope; perhaps I really am just CRAZY – but whatever it is…. I just believe that children should be introduced to certain things so… I keep trying.   

I guess in a way I have improved because I now seek out folks to help me with my “projects.”  I no longer have to be the beginning, middle and end of the matter.  Blessedly, God seems to send all the right folks just when I need them for one of my schemes – oh, I mean “projects.”

I won’t tell you how many different little craft things I have tucked around this place just waiting for me to have the right energy/patience or correct “assistant” in the house.  I will also steer clear of mentioning my bright idea for gardens this past hot season. 

For the record, I’m not the only one with these ideas in my family.  My daughter starts a lot of projects and howls in defeat at the end because she just can’t imagine what she was thinking at the time.  Her husband usually comes in and pushes the “project” on to completion. 

I’m also sure my mother would like for me to forego the story of the flower planting idea she had.  I will just say that the children were very interested in watching her do the digging and we never noticed a flower blooming despite the children regularly checking. 

I determined, despite the failure of my garden plan (it was hot ya’ll), the children still needed to experience laboring and sharing the fruits of that labor with others.  So, I bought a box of craft things, talked my mother her best friend and a sister/friend into joining us for some crafts (Grandmas/Aunite).  It must have sounded like such a good plan that my male co-worker (Daddy/Uncle) brought his children over to join in the fun (his wife was the smartest of us all – she didn’t come over).  We also had another kiddo and adult join us (Grandma/Auntie) a little after the crafts began. 

But I was very smart (minus the glue thing but I corrected that by buying some glue in the middle of the project).  I bought a large bottle of wine.  I opened the box of stuff put it on the table and had my very large glass of wine (11am ya’ll).  I was feeling no pain and was doing no crafts so it all went well for me. 

The children were interested at first but somewhere along the line, they broke camp, escaped the house and were running wild in the yard.  None of the involved adults (Grandmas/Aunties/Uncle/Daddy) seemed to be all that worried about them escaping.  We had food and wine and the house was quieter.  We were happy.

However, an hour or so after the children made a break for it…. I heard grumblings from the worker bees.  They had figured out that my co-worker had slipped away.  But he’s wise to being around women so he would shuffle in and out of the room (when a commercial was on the TV). 

Then they wanted to know why I wasn’t doing any crafts.  I explained that was the reason for inviting them (smile – you can imagine how well that went over).  They wouldn’t accept any of my advice on how to make the crafts stick together (got a little snippy too something about “the one that isn’t working has ideas”) so I was forced to show them how it’s done! 

I used spray adhesive – which they had discounted as being ineffective without ever trying it.  My lovely little Christmas tree dried and was done in no time.  I cleaned the kitchen; bagged up all the left over craft stuff and put all the stuff up in the time it took them to keep checking on their wet crafts (wait - you don’t think that was their plan - do you?)

The Rest of the Story

I don’t know if we have enough projects completed to give as gifts but I truly enjoyed the singing that went on against my mother’s wishes (but you’d be glad to know that she and my sister/friend dug way back in the hymnal archives and broke out in an oldie but goodie). 

I enjoyed the children being free of us always telling them stop it, quit it, don’t.  And, I especially enjoyed the fact that our family-friends would give up their time to attempt my plan with the children. 

I wonder if the children know how truly blessed we are?  I guess I will have to develop a new scheme to teach them that (smile) but I know and feel full of joy and gratitude that God always sends who and what is needed when it is needed;  which must be the reason WE WON’T GIVE UP.   I thank you Lord!