I chant this while running: "I can endure ANYTHING for ______ minutes!" Over and over again I chant this while envisioning the scene I would make if I gave out and went flying off the treadmill right there in the middle of "Boob Job Central".
Enduring isn't usually the problem. It is the end part that get's me every time. It doesn't matter if I am running 10 miles or 10 minutes it is going to be that last one that gets me.
Let me put it to you this way: I make it through an entire Super Walmart with 6 kids and a list that takes me from one corner of that store to the other and back again. I make it! Yes! We have kept the 5 year old from throwing himself down onto the floor in "I am the fifth child and I WANT THIS INDIVIDUAL SIZE BOX OF OVER PRICED GOLDFISH CRACKERS!!!" fits. We have fought back the baby's boredom with silly faces and pieces of candy we haven't actually paid for yet. We are at the checkout line!
But wait! We are not finished. There is that end part to deal with. The last mile. The last minute. This is where everything falls apart. This is where the 10 year old and the 9 year old need to go potty so bad that it would look like child abuse if I didn't let them go. Of course I can't let a girl and boy go into a public restroom at Walmart without a buddy so I send a sister for the 10 year old and a brother for the 9 year old. That leaves the 5 year old and the baby. Lucky me.
Darn it all if there aren't oodles and oodles of stuff to get into at the checkout counter. And it all looks so fun. And it is their last chance. And they know it. Just one more shot at mom before we walk out of "cool stuff" land. This is where endurance takes a back seat. Move over endurance; up walks last minute guy.
Baby can't reach that bag of "stuff", 5 year old begs for this one little car, baby starts crying, 5 year old begs more, mommy is juggling baby stroller and "stuff" and wallet and 5 year old. Mommy loses her cool. I am really cool by the way. And when someone who is really cool loses their cool....it is a long way down let me assure you.
And so I chant. Out loud. For everyone to hear.
"I can endure anything for _____ minutes. I can endure anything for ____ minutes."
Hold hands with me. Chant it with me. Dance with me around the fire. Let's call the last minute Guys. That's right....to the beat of the drum now.
The End.
3 comments:
So true! Those last one to two minutes can really test a person.
For me.....it is after we get home and I have to unload all of that stuff and for some STUPID REASON no matter WHEN or HOW LONG we've been gone all of my kids feel THEY HAVE TO EAT when they walk in the door so I'm trying to put stuff away while kids are whining that they want to eat......and I'm trying to put stuff away.......and.......I hate putting stuff away from grocery shopping. I hate unloading the car from anything personally. As for the check out line....I've learned years ago that they win. First thing I do is find something to shove in their faces while I shop and make sure it is a big bag of what ever it is so it lasts through ALL of the shopping and through the checkout and in the car so that when they get home......they STILL WHINE AND WANT TO EAT! But at least I made it through the shopping........
okay my dear, next time leave all of the kids at home to be tended by their older, mature, responsible older siblings. Walmart+kids=torture! Remember that! and don't do that to yourself anymore. Oh, and the needing-to-go-to-the-bathroom-at-the-last-minute thing...totally normal. My kids try it every time!
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