My Choice

To Scream OR To Laugh....

That was the choice I had to make in June of 2001.

It was a Friday night in early June. Ron was at Youth Conference with Andrew and I was home with the girls. Megan was almost 2 and Katherine was 4.

I was in the kitchen finishing the dishes after an early dinner. The plan was to bathe the girls, read stories, and tuck them in early so I could curl up with a book in a quiet, clean house. With two toddlers and a teenager at home, moments like these were rare.

The girls were playing in the next room and I could hear them being giggly and interacting in such a fun way.The dishes were done and I headed to the next room to tell the girls it was bath time.

This is when I had to make the choice...

SCREAM or LAUGH.

True to the recently viewed Teletubbies Episode, they had been painting...NOT WITH BRUSHES....NOT ON PAPER OR A CANVAS. (who says Media is not powerful!!!!!!)

The girls had a PLASTIC TUB filled with Crayola Paint of every color all mixed together, making a sick dark green color. (I still dont know how they found that paint)

They were painting with THEIR FEET AND HANDS. Their canvas was KATHERINE'S ROOM...EVERY INCH. Every toy, every wall, every blanket, every piece of furniture, the window blinds, and THE CARPET. yes THE CARPET was the most painted area of all.

I took one look at the room and Megan, who was looking more like an ALIEN than my little toddler, and decided to not yell or scream. (I never got a picture of Megan as I was holding on to her with one hand and did not want her to touch anything)

Instead.....I told them this was bad thing, talked about how they should never do this, etc. and went to get my CAMERA.... (Note Here...MY SCANNER WORKS AGAIN!)

While I was soaking and scrubbing the girls in the Bath Tub, I made the fated phone call to Ron.
"I need you to come home now"
I explained what had just happened and the clean up job ahead.
"We have to rip the carpet out and I cant do it alone. Please come home."
Ron, in his calm way explained that he would go to Home Depot to pick up a cleaning chemical and a carpet cleaner, as he was sure it could all be cleaned up.
His tone made me feel like he did not understand the depth of the mess in Katherine's room. This is when I got emotional...PLEASE COME HOME NOW....YOU DONT GET IT...THE ROOM IS RUINED.
Well, Ron stopped at Home Depot and it made all the difference.
By 4 am, we had the room completely cleaned...no more sick dark green (as far as we could see). There were small spots in remote places that I would notice once in awhile, but generally, the Paint Mess was cleaned. That same carpet is still in place, even after we moved. (Oh, if those walls could talk!)

I did not yell or "lose it" with the little girls, Ron kept his cool and focused on a solution, and the mess was cleaned up.In Life, I have learned that if I spend too much time "yelling and screaming" or fretting over something negative...then I don't have time or energy to think of solutions and resolve the issues at hand. The more I practice using my energy in a positive way...the easier it becomes..it actually becomes natural to choose this approach rather than the yelling, fretting, high emotion approach.

Last week, I explained to my children that we only have a certain about of time and energy, so if we use it on being upset about a problem, then we don't have the energy to solve the problem.

Looking back at this situation, and many other "true crisis" situations in my life, I realize that life is too short to be negative. Energy is best used loving, caring, serving, and working on positive solutions and relationships.

Have you ever surprised yourself at a reaction to something? Do you agree....using energy in a positive way is much more effective?

Are you so happy my scanner is up and going again? I am!