The Breakthrough

I had a proud moment today with Sarah! This was a very exciting breakthrough.

I have been trying so hard, for years, to stop the incessant whining that my kids do for equality. Everything has to be the same for every girl, every time or that terrible sound will ensue. If one person is asked to do a chore, the first thing out of that person's mouth is, "Well, what is Natalie doing? Why isn't she doing something?" If something, ANYTHING, is given to one of the girls it's just like the baby birds in a nest. "Chirp Chirp, Me Me, I want one, I want one". I am not in the habit of just giving one child a cookie and refusing to give one to the other two. But I feel constantly policed in distributing everything equally. Which is fine, in most cases, but I don't like the inevitable whiny tone that accompanies the equality demanded.

So today, when I told Natalie and Angela they could have some Raspberry Sherbet after dinner... In walked Sarah, catching what was going on in the last sentence of our conversation. And immediately went into, "Uhh! Ieee want somme...." with dramatic inflections and a disgusted sigh. (As if I wouldn't give her some.) But then a miracle happened! Before she got the whole whiny sentence out of her mouth she immediately CAUGHT HERSELF! She stopped mid-way and said, "WAIT!" Talking to herself because the urge to whine is so ingrained, the physical restraint needed to stop midway must have taken Herculian effort! After the sudden, "WAIT", she followed with a total change in countenance and a very polite, "Mom, could I have some ice cream too?" I almost did a dance - no - I'm pretty sure I did! I was so proud! She broke the cycle! I don't know how much more often this phenomenon will occur, but was a wonderful moment.

I gave Sarah a high five and told her to get 2 Disney bucks. She thought it was a little funny how excited I was, but hopefully she'll remember that and reenact that scene some more! Maybe one of her sisters will catch on. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Way to go Sarah! It's hard stopping bad habits! You're definitely growing up!