Tales from the Steppes

2006-04-06

9:26 a.m.
Thursday, April 6

You don't have to look and you don't have to see
'Cause you can feel it in your olfactory
- Loudon Wainwright III

So, Tuesday I came home from work later than normal. It was an unavoidable thing but it left the MM and YM unsupervised for an hour. I had called and spoken with the MM to make sure they got home from school ok and to reinforce my behavioural expectations. Plus a bribe if all went well. Yes, I know it is not good to bribe children to do things they should do on their own. But sometimes it can help.

Not this time.

When I was giving them instructions, apparently I neglected to specify that they were not to throw an egg at any of the rear windows of the house. What was I thinking?

And really, how stupid. If you are going to do something like that, clean it up before the parent gets home. It is just common sense but the younger mongols seem to be lacking this in any abundance. Both of them staunchly deny doing it and I guess there is a chance that they are innocent.

It could have been the brat next door, who was upset that he didn't get to play on the inflatable at the YM's party. I finally had enough of him and banned him from our yard. It is one thing to be nasty to other children. All children do it and it should be strongly discouraged. But inciting others to be nasty as well is an ugly trait that this child's parents have not made any headway with. It is very uncool to call another child fat but getting all the kids on the schoolbus to do it is another matter entirely. So after a number of occurrences, failed peer mediation at school, joint trips to the school counselor with the MM and the school calling his parents, I finally banished him from our yard. I did not talk to his parents about it and I probably should have. But who wants to be that parent that says "Your kid did x, y, and z and blah blah blah"?

But I am still betting that the egg was the work of one of the mongols. So I made them clean it up, they did not get to go to the 7-11 for a treat, and they spent the rest of the afternoon on their beds reading. And I made something for dinner that I knew they wouldn't like - shrimp. The horror of it all.

Of course, I am not an "eat this or else" person. That is a good way to promote eating disorders. So they can either eat what I serve or have some fresh fruit and veggies. I win no matter which way they go.