To Nag or Not To Nag

My husband kindly reminded me this morning,

that in all the changing I have been trying to do,

nagging, apparently, did not make the list.

My two darling children,

oh, how I love them so,

have a belief about time that does not exactly jive with mine.

They seem to think time will stretch to accommodate their

their desire to move at an inchworm's pace

in the morning.

And it seems, the more I urge (nag)

the slower they move.

SO 

my dilemma is this.

How to be the person I want to be...

calm, measured, peaceful, loving

oh yes, and happy to be of service,

but also get their butts to school on time?

Preferably with smiles on their faces.

You see, while I do want to practice all the virtues I named above,

I have no desire to be a pushover.

My solution this morning 

was to ground them from hanging with their friends this weekend,

which prompted a rebuttal from my daughter worthy of

Perry Mason.

 She really should consider a career in law.

And while I am totally cool with taking away privileges when

my kids don't do what is expected,

and I wear the title of Meanest Mother in the World

quite proudly,

I know there has to be a better way.

I think it comes down to making them more responsible 

for themselves.

When they rely on me to wake them up and get them out the door, they only have one person (in their minds)

to blame if they are late...me.

Plus, they know that being late gives me the hives.

(In college, if I was running late, I wouldn't even go to the class at all...better to skip it altogether than to walk in five minutes late...great theory, huh!)

I never said I was a master of logic!

I think it is time to turn the tables a little.

Time for some alarm clocks and personal responsibility.

My daughter says she doesn't need to worry about that until college.

I am thinking middle school is a bit of a late start.

One thing is for sure...

the next week in our house may not be pretty,

but hopefully the pain of the means is worth the end.

So...no great words of wisdom today

(as if I ever really have any)

If anyone has something that has worked for them, I am all ears!!

I really do hate being a nag,

even though I have quite a natural talent for it.

At least the dog thinks I am awesome,

but then again, she's ALWAYS ready to get in the car

when its time to go.

:)