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The Magic Red Rock
©Lisa Barker
The boys were
getting on my nerves the other day with their bickering. If the nine-year old
wasn’t teasing, then the three-year old was giving it back as good as he got.
Suddenly, I blurted out something that my grandmother would have said.
“I have a special job for you,” I said
to the three-year old. “Go out in the backyard and find me a red rock.”
Immediately, he brightened, abandoned
the warrior stance he’d taken with his brother and happily skipped out the back
door in search of a red rock.
“What do you need a red rock for?” the
nine-year old asked, with just a hint of suspicion. I was sure he would see
right through my feeble plan and spoil it.
So I hedged.
“Well, I’d really like a red rock for my
collection....” (I don’t have one —yet.)
“Can I help find one?” he asked,
suddenly filled with enthusiasm and not the least bit wise to my intentions. Out
he went to help his brother find the elusive and rare red rock.
They brought me orange rocks, yellow
rocks, speckled rocks and one little stone with red rust on it, but still the
special red rock that Momma wanted could not be found. Eagerly, they worked
together, searched as a team and ran back and forth from one find to another,
reporting their progress with each new discovery.
“Is this a red rock?” the three-year old
asked, when he presented another imposter.
“No, I’m afraid not. The red rock is
magic, so you have to look very hard for it.”
“It is!” the nine-year old chimed in and
off they went spinning the tale of the red rock and its special powers until the
legend became greater than the rock itself…which, by the way, was never found.
After a while the boys lost interest and were too busy playing together and
having fun to care whether or not they ever found that red rock.
Did I lie? Of course not. That magic red
rock turned two bickering, testy children into the best of friends for the rest
of the afternoon. Any parent will tell you that that’s no easy trick —it
has to be magic. My Grandma was pretty wise.
It’s funny how an unexpected simple
thing can turn a bad moment around. I was thinking that very thing when my
husband walked in the door, tripped over a toy and barely stifled a sharp retort
when I told him that I’d had a busy day to excuse the state of the house.
“What were you doing?”
“Looking for this magic red rock....”
“Really.”
“YES. It shuts kids up.”
He brightened and asked,
enthusiastically, “Can I help look, too?”
“Sure!”
Sometimes it works on husbands, too.
Jelly Mom™ is
written by Lisa Barker, mother of five and author of "Just
Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad
Parent!" and is syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To
Parent.
To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please
visit
http://www.jellymom.com.
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