competitive nature

Here I sit listening to music waiting for the kids to get their test pads for spelling… This could be a long wait. Not that they don’t want to take their spelling test or anything as drastic as that. No I’m waiting cause I can hear them argueing over whose the better speller. Ummmm one is in first grade and one is in second I know who the best speller here is…me.

What is the deal with competition between children? It doesn’t matter what they’re doing! Drinking milk: First child “I can blow more bubbles than you.” Second child “So I can make more come out my nose.” Mother “Please just drink your milk.” Then the children exchange THE LOOK. More snot and bubble are followed by the milk getting spilled and then the arguments turn to whose puddle is bigger. No one notices the mother trying to count to ten and having to start over repeatedly as the argument gets louder.

Don’t they worry about the consequences of making Mommy lose her sanity? I’m sure someone else can figure out how to use the stove…dishwasher…washer and dryer. “Where’s dinner, we’re hungry” “Mama is still sitting in the corner rocking we have to wait a little longer.”

Are these competition really that important? No one is going to remember whose room was cleaner, or who had more snot. Heck I’ve heard arguments about who had more pudding on their spoon and whose dog ate more trash. But they weren’t so excited to clean up the aftermath later.

I know, I know-competition is necessary in life. And in the right arena it can be a boon, such as when it comes to schooling. I have to force the kids to quit reading over each other. Martin read for two hours the other day just to out do Madison. But in the big picture I can think of only a handful of times the competition has been of any use.

Oh well, now I’m off to measure the chicken thighs, got to make sure I get the biggest.