grounded

about a week ago i had to ground both of my children. one for peeing in an unacceptable place, and the other...well, let's just say that computers can be poison for the mind. you can guess for yourself who belongs to each offense. to add, this is strike 2 for both.

ironically, their groundings happened at the same time. no friends over and no electronics for one week. no tv, music, IPOD, cell phone, DSi, PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, leapster, etc. clearly, my kids are spoiled. but it's pretty amazing how many things your child plays with that is electronic. this generation is very different from the past.

my point in writing about this is not so much to share why they were grounded, although i'm sure i'll look back and laugh some day, rather to mention how they made the most out of their time and how it impacted me.

the school week probably wasn't very tough for either of them. we are generally busy with sports or homework in the evenings. the loss of tv only seemed to affect taegan because she LOVES american idol. however, the long car treks and waiting for practices to end are generally pacified by some type of handheld electronic device. instead, we spent time talking to each other. i really enjoyed that part!

even so, i wasn't very convinced that the groundings were going to sting very much.

until...the prospect of a snow day became reality. chris asked if i wanted to end the grounding a day early due to the kids being home all day. a part of me wanted to say yes, but i decided to stay firm hoping that they would remember this snow day...with NO electronics or friends.

today began with excited and wound up kids. "where's the snow? why is there no school?" they asked. "it's coming!" i replied.

but as the day progressed, i began realizing how much i enjoyed the absence of electronics. the kids colored together. they played in the snow together. they even played board games. when i asked them to clean or pick up stuff, they didn't complain. why? they had nothing better to do. i could get used to this!!

my favorite part was being snowed in, playing blokus and scrabble for hours. i actually watched my children problem-solve and make logical decisions. had they used these skills a week ago, maybe they wouldn't have ended up grounded. hee, hee!

tomorrow they are both, officially, ungrounded from electronics. i'm actually sad. i really enjoyed spending time with them.

in the end, i feel that the groundings gave me MORE than it took away from the kids. i've always agreed with the old adage, "it hurts me way more than it hurts you". although, i believe i experienced a pay off...for once!

i love my children!