A Back to School Fail
One of my favorite times each year is sitting at the dinner table hearing about my boys’ first day of school. I ask questions until they beg me to stop…Who did you sit with at lunch? Which teacher was your favorite? Did anyone in your class get in trouble? Was it you? My husband and I try to create memories and traditions that make going back to school a fun time. Every year on the first day of school we have fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese for dinner…no fighting over eating vegetables makes for a peaceful dinner.
This year both of my boys had a great first day; however, that hasn’t always been the case. A few years ago, just days before school started, my husband and I noticed that one of our boys was starting to grow a mustache! He was about to start his first year of middle school, so we weren’t sure what to do. We decided that we didn’t want him to shave it because then the mustache would possibly grow in thicker and be more noticeable. We couldn’t leave it because what if he got made fun of for having a mustache in middle school! Our not so brilliant solution was to Nair his mustache…HUGE MISTAKE!
It was a full family affair as we explained that this white lotion was just going to take away his new mustache and make his skin look like puberty hadn’t hit yet. We followed the directions to a T. After setting a timer, we waited and then told our son he could wash it off. Immediately we noticed that the mustache was gone, but in its place was a bright red mustache…a severe burn. We waited a few hours to see if it would go away, but it continued to get redder and blister. With school one day away we panicked, and he panicked. My husband and I felt horrible! The only thing worse than starting the first day of middle school with a mustache is starting the first day of middle school with a second degree mustache burn! We got a prescription medication for burns and prayed that God would miraculously heal the mustache burn before school started.
He didn’t…but I told my son to look on the bright side. It could be confused as a Kool-aid stain and if he became a pastor one day this would make for a great sermon. We told him that his real friends wouldn’t care if he had a mustache burn. As you can imagine, this didn’t help him feel better!
As you know, parenting can be hard. We want to give our children the best and set them up for the best chance of success, but sometimes we fail. Sometimes we mess up. Sometimes we lose our patience, feed them garbage, model bad behavior or burn their faces with Nair the day before school starts!
I love that at LCS we can get plugged in and support each other through these tough times. As parents we need that support so that we don’t feel like we are on an island battling parenthood alone.
If you are looking for ways to get involved, come to Parent Prayer on Tuesday mornings at 8:00 a.m. Moms, you can also join Shield Maidens to find a support group here at LCS. We are blessed to have other parents to share in our parenting failures as well as the successes. I am looking forward to a great year, and I pray that your family has an amazing year at LCS!