I’ve always been told you need to have a variety of parenting tools in your back pocket. Meaning you can’t always whip out the same old “grounded from electronics” or “no car this weekend.”
So I consider my most recent creative parenting tool quite a success. Of course my kids don’t see it that way but maybe one day they will.
I take Spirit Week seriously at our kids school. You know the deal – your school does it too most likely. Each day has a theme. Crazy Hair Day, etc. Our school declared Monday to be Senior Citizens Day. And I had the perfect getup for it. And I mean perfect. Wig. Granny glasses. Hot Pink House Coat. And even a real set of dentures. (Thank you local dentist office for your support in the training and admonition of my children. )
But. BUT……my two precious chilrens – well, they refused to dress up. They were too cool for school.
After much pleading, begging and failed persuasion I sent the kids to school that morning in regular clothes. It burned me up inside. Letting them do it. Giving in to them.
But then I went to a Doctor’s appointment that morning and my Doctor, whose kid also attends our school, whips out her phone and shows me pictures of her kid all dressed up Granny style. She was adorable. And I was so jealous. So I read her my rant on Facebook that I just posted while in the waiting room which stated how mad I was that my kids wouldn’t dress up and that I was thinking about dressing up as a Granny and showing up to school because of it.
My Doctor totally encouraged me to do it. So did a lot of my friends on Facebook. So I took invented “Granny Gertrude” and showed up to school for both of my kids lunch breaks.
Meet Granny Gertrude…..
See Sophie’s reaction when she saw me coming with my decorated hot pink walker.
Who needs Botox when you can stuff a beach towel in your britches to fluff the fanny. Like I really needed it! LOL!!!
This is me with my son and his high school friends. When I told a “yo granny’s so ugly joke” I threw the false teeth out on the table and watched these young men turn blood red. I gathered my teeth and said a few words about school spirit and that perhaps tomorrow they would want to dress up. And then Granny Gertrude left the scene.
When I got the van I realized I had left my clothes at home so I had to wear my Granny Gertrude getup to the dentist office to return the dentures by a certain time. When I picked them up initially there was nobody in the waiting room of the office. But when I went to return them the place was packed! And get this – with all Senior Citizens that looked just like me! Not kidding. I debated how I might return them without being seen but there was no way out. I had to go in dressed like I was and return the dentures. So I did. I have NO idea what those people thought because I never looked their direction. I got in returned the teeth and bolted out of there like nobody’s business.
The first words out of both of their mouths at carpool that afternoon:
9th grader: “Mom! How could you do that. You made me look bad!!”
4th grader: “Mom, I know what I’m going to dress up as for career day tomorrow! Which means you don’t have to come dressed up tomorrow. Right?!”
Needless to say both the kids dressed up the rest of the week.
Mission accomplished.
I think u are absolutely fabulous 🙂