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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Thou shalt not covet...

Sacrament meeting was pretty awful today. Rachel just would't leave Miriam alone. She had decided that she would not be satisfied unless she had whatever it was that Meme was currently holding. So she'd wrench something out of Miriam's hands and, looking rather smug, would settle in to enjoy it. Miriam, of course, would be unhappy, so I'd dig through the diaper bag to find something new for Miriam to play with. Obtaining that item would then become Rachel's next goal. 

There was a whole lot of screaming coming from our bench and when I couldn't take it anymore I took Rachel out for a timeout in a classroom. Andrew was playing the organ so I basically ditched Miriam on our row and fled to the foyer dragging Rachel, kicking and fussing, all the way.

She drew a picture of the ordeal after we went back in to sit with Miriam again.


That tall orange person is me—and don't I just look happy to be there? That short pink and yellow person is Rachel—who has tears streaming down her face (and a braid in her hair that is apparently sticking straight up). The brown lines all over the background is her rendition of that icky burlap stuff they put on the walls and the multi-coloured circles on the bottom of the page represents the carpet.

She got just about every detail right except that I was not smiling—believe you me!

We had a nice little chat about the difference between wanting something and coveting something. Rachel can want to take a turn with something that Miriam has, and that's fine, but when the wanting gets to be so intense that it takes over her every thought and she chooses to be dissatisfied with every other option presented to her then it turns into coveting. It's obsessive. It's one of Satan's tools to make us feel miserable. And it's not okay.

I hardly ever take my children out during sacrament meeting so I wasn't really sure how Rachel would react to it—would it be an effective punishment or would she see it as a treat? 

She definitely did not see it as a treat. I set up a chair in an empty classroom, told her to sit on it, and then stood outside the door while she screamed. After a few minutes all she wanted to do was go back in and sit down with Miriam so we did and she was actually good until the end of the meeting.

That picture just cracks me up, though. 

5 comments:

  1. Isn't it wonderful that even though you really were upset, Rachel saw your sweet inner motherly smile?
    Am I wrong?

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  2. That is exactly what I thought when I read this--in her mind's eye, you are always wearing a smile. That is very cool.

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  3. I struggled with the same question yesterday at church, "Would Michael see me taking him out as a treat?" Finally during the closing song I took him out and we just drove home. When he realized we weren't just going out, but going home, he became angry/sad and quickly attributed the leaving to his bad behavior. (Which in a way it was). So, hopefully next week will be better. ???

    I have done the whole "timeout in a classroom" thing, but I hate doing that when people walk by and can hear him screaming. It's not like he's in there forever. 1 minute is all people, but for some that's like torturing my child I guess. Whatever.

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  4. Torture?

    I remember being told I'd be taken out for a spanking...but that was back in the olden days, I guess.

    Time out is not torture. My theory is they'd be screaming ANYWAY so they may as well do it alone. :)

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  5. Captain E is the same as Rachel. He gets so obsessed with what one of his sisters has that he totally can't enjoy what he has. I get so sick of the, "It's not fair..." I wonder if it is an oldest child thing.

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