Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine?

I love my precious youngest daughter. Really, I do. She is usually funny, oh-so-funny. She is also smart, scary smart. She has a lot of very positive qualities. However, there is this one character flaw that I really wish someone could help me with: she is a whiner. There are days (and today was one of them) when I swear the child must have stayed up all night the previous night compiling a list of things to whine about. It must be very hard work. Now, I have been know to occasionally indulge in a little whine myself (no comments from the Peanut Gallery, please) but I cannot even begin to hold a candle to Hallie once she's on a roll. Here is a small sampling of our day...
"But we don't have anything for breakfast" (Yesterday was grocery day. The pantry and fridge are both full.)
"But I want to wear pants today because its freezing cold." (It was about 68 degrees, so she put her legs and feet through the sleeves of her school sweater which gave her the appearance of a Dr. Seuss character and made me grrrr just a little bit.)
"But she got to ride in the front seat yesterday" (The front and the back seat are both going the same place and arriving there at the same time, so I do not understand why this is such a big issue)
"But I just want to play for a while before I do my homework" (What have you been doing for the past two hours down the street with your friends?)
"But why can't we go get dessert with Elizabeth and Paige?" (Because we just ate mega-rolls smothered in butter and huge platefuls of pasta for dinner...with Elizabeth and Paige)
"But there's a bug in the laundry room, so I can't go in there" (Well, at least he's a clean bug if he's in the laundry room.)
"But I don't have any underwear." (I know, a little TMI, but the point is the aforementioned bug was guarding the laundry room where all the clean underwear is kept.)
"But why does Hannah get to do it and I can't?" (Ummm, let's see...maybe because she's 13 and you're 8?)
And one of my all-time favorites: "But I'm too tired to go to sleep." (Oh, well then by all means why don't you turn on the TV and watch Home Improvement reruns until 3 a.m.)
Of course, her sister gets in a good whine now and then as well. Yesterday she was upset because her least favorite teacher moved her from the spot right next to his desk to the very back of the room because she is one of the few who does her homework and behaves in class. Let's recap, she doesn't like him so now she doesn't have to sit close to him and its because he's taken note that she's a good kid. This should be a good thing, but for some reason it struck a sour note. *shrug*
Honestly, I have no idea where my children have learned to whine like that...must be their dad.

1 comment:

Kimberly Carpenter said...

Ha! I am giggling as I type. I shouldn't though because I am sure my day is coming.