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| Cute kids holiday card |
Getting my family to anything is like herding cats...
Early in my career I heard the phrase, "getting that department to do anything is like 'herding cats'" As someone who is neither a cat lover nor a pet owner, I was super curious about what it meant, so I looked it up. According to Wikipedia the phrase means, "[A] futile attempt to control or organize a
class of entities which are inherently uncontrollable – as in the difficulty of
attempting to command individual cats into a group (herd)."
Based on that description I think that the Wikipedia folks have been spying at my house!
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| Mom and baby in a snowy field |
Indeed, it takes huge effort, whenever, I try to get anyone in my family to do anything either big or small that wasn't their idea. First, there are the questions, "Why do we have to do this?" Then, there are the complaints, "I have so many other things to do instead of __________?" The complaints are generally followed by the thinly veiled insults, "__________ is a complete waste of time. I don't even know why anybody would ever do this."
This past weekend, the hardship I wanted my family to do was to take family photos for our Christmas card. THE HORROR!
It can be exhausting. A lesser woman might just abandon getting them to do things, but I am not her!
When I first told Andre that we had a photo shoot there was tension. First, he asked, "Are we getting paid???" His three paychecks from print ads and commercials appear to have gone to his head. Second, he asked, "Why do you always plan things for me to do??? I need to clean out the basement and rake the leaves! *@#&*!"
Although I believe there is honor in all work, there's no way raking the leaves would interfere with me doing anything. I also understand that we live in Southwestern Pennsylvania where the sunshine is scarce, the weather is unpredictable, and we struggle to make appointments. Last year we took our Christmas photos at the Children's Museum. It was an early morning appointment. We were SUPER late and the only reason they took our photo is because I knew the person in charge.
Because this photo shoot was in the afternoon and I learned that you should never waste good lighting, I pressed on. I told Andre that he was welcome to stay home and rake leaves, but his family would be taking Christmas photos. Surprisingly, he decided to come, which was a huge win. It would have been super awkward to have a jack o' lantern represent him in the photos.
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| Man walking in field |
Well, then our daughter got mad because she had to wear jeans. Then her anger turned to rage. Then her rage turned to hysterical tears. I assure you there were no beatings or yellings that I am concealing. Her reaction was all because of the jeans. I may have been sympathetic to her feelings had she not been so damned out of control. However, her reaction was so disproportionate to the issue that I couldn't encourage it.
A lesser woman might just have given up, but I am not her!
She went on for about a half hour alternating between tears and pants. It was astounding to witness. She went in. There were the tears, the runny nose, the pleas. It got me thinking that I had somehow transformed into an abuser as opposed to a mom who merely wanted to take some family photos. Despite all of the drama, I persisted, I allowed her to have her moment, I just told her to have it in silently while she put on her shoes and coat.
Surprisingly, the boys were easy to get ready. I think they took note of their sister's drama and decided that there was enough drama in the house at that moment. I appreciated their consideration! In any event, by the time we arrived at Hozak Farms (about 40 minutes away) everyone was happy. Although we were late for our sitting, our kind photographer fit us in and we took lovely photos.
The photo at the top is one I took from behind the phtographer. It's super cute, right?! I cannot wait to see what hers look like. I'm sure they'll be even better. And you know what, my daughter kept those jeans on for the remainder of the evening without any tears, only smiles.
Moral of the story: Make the Effort for Holiday Cards Even Though It's Hard
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