Lessons I continue to teach myself

I seem to have the need to teach myself painful lessons over and over again when it comes to parenting.  I manage to convince myself that certain situations will not be as painful as last time, only to learn AGAIN the lesson I should have remembered to start with.

Some examples....

Taking Bean to the supermarket will be easy.  We'll nip in and out, retrieve the items on our list and carry on with our day.  THE LESSON:  Shopping in any form with Bean is not easy.  The majority of the experience is spent listening to his whining for things that I won't give him - a muffin, a cookie, more treats in one form or another.

Friday evening activities will be fun, a nice treat for everyone.  Examples include - movie nights at the school, invitations for family dinners at friends' houses.  THE LESSON:  There is ALWAYS a meltdown of one sort or another.  One or both children always get upset at the end of the said event and lash out verbally and sometimes physically.  Of course, the main reason the meltdown occurs is that they are exhausted from a busy week.  My hopes for treating them to something special quickly slide down the drain as the activity turns into frustration for all of us.  Instead of trying to do something fun, I should whisk them home and put them to bed on time instead.

This parenting gig continues to keep me on my toes.  Maybe today's lessons can be chaulked up to the full moon.  Or maybe I should remember to stop and reconsider certain decisions before I make them!