Friday, November 20, 2009

Scriptures and a bowl of cereal

Last night during family scriptures we were reading Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
We talked about some of our "weak" things. One of Dylan's is his temper. We explained to him that if he asks Heavenly Father for help and tries to be good then Heavenly Father will help him not to get so angry.
Well that night I barely got any sleep thanks to an annoying cough. Mason woke up at 5:15 and after eating he decided it was time to play. I tried to go back to sleep and hoped Mason would follow suit but apparently he was having way too much fun swatting at my face. Finally at 7:15 I went and put him back in bed. Dylan came into my room a little while later and this was the conversation we had. Just remember that while your imagining this scenario, my voice sounds really groggy because I'm not really awake yet and Dylan is mostly yelling or screaming.

Me: Dylan you can either climb in bed and lay down or go turn on the tv.
Dylan : No I'm hungry! (Did you remember to scream this, it's just not the same without the yelling.)
Me: Go get yourself a bowl of cereal.
Dylan: NOOOOOO! I want oatmeal!
Me: Dylan, Mom's really tired. I didn't get very much sleep last night.
Dylan: I don't care, I want oatmeal now!
Me: I'll get up in 10 minutes
Dylan: NO!!!
Me: 15 minutes

Dylan stormed out of the room and slammed my door, twice! Then he slammed the bathroom door and all the cabinets in the bathroom. I heard him go into Mason's room. I knew what he was going to do but I knew that even if I got up I wouldn't make it in time to stop him, plus my body just wouldn't let get up yet. I was thinking that I'd have to have a talk with him about his temper again because obviously it didn't sink in. Dylan came in my room again.

Dylan: Mason's awake, you need to get up.
Me: Dylan, go to your room. That wasn't nice of you to wake Mason up.
Dylan: You're the WORST mommy ever. I don't like you at all.

Dylan stormed out of the room again. I thought maybe Mason had gone back to sleep because I couldn't hear him. I snuggled back up in my blanket and was almost asleep again when I heard my door open very quietly. I could tell Dylan was in my room but didn't want me know he was there. I was totally fine with that, seeing how I still wasn't fully conscious. Five or ten minutes later I finally subcumbed to my parental duties and rolled over to see what time it was. There on my night stand sat a bowl of cereal. Dylan came into my room once again.

Me: Did you decide to get yourself a bowl of cereal?
Dylan: No, I decided that since you are soooo tired I would get you a bowl of cereal so that you don't have to get out of bed.

Awwww, seriously I was blinking back tears. Just minutes before my five year old was throwing the tantrum of all tantrums and then all on his own he decided to do something so sweet. I know when I'm in a bad mood I don't feel like doing anything nice for anyone. For him to put aside his wants and think about mine was amazing. I was so proud of him, maybe it did sink in after all.

8 comments:

Angela said...

I love this post! It shows how what real life is all about. It also shows how children can quickly humble themselves and teach us important lessons. Love Dylan! I am getting so excited to see you guys at Christmas, too!

Kristina said...

How cute! I love little moments like that! Miss you guys- we need to have a Christmas party I'm thinking....

The Conrad Family said...

This makes me so happy! I am glad to know that I am not alone in the door slamming mommy hating tantrums! Noah has been doing that A LOT!! At least your sweetie ends it with something so precious. Mine just wipes his snot on my shirt as he give me a hug! The hug is sweet...the snot...not so much!!

Ashley said...

It's good to know that Dylan has his hard moments too. I swear our little Charlie is bipolar because he can throw temper tantrums like no other and then 2 minutes later be laughing and telling us how happy he is! That is such a great story

VanDyke Family said...

I agree with Angela! Children can be so unpredictable and yet so amazing at the same time...I've had moments like this too and it really makes you stop and think of thankful we are to have them in our lives! Can't wait to see you guys!

Jamie Younker said...

I'm so glad you wrote this story down. :) What a tender mercy. Sometimes mommies need moments like this to remind us that we are doing something right.

p.s. we missed you guys this weekend!

Lindsey said...

Such a sweet story, thank you for sharing. For most kids that seems to be the case, out of control one minute and then sweet the next. If it weren't for the sweet moments, I think we'd all go crazy :)

Ella Bella Floral said...

I think Dylan is a sweet boy becasue he has a kind and patient Mommy:) and Daddy! The best kind of tear jerker!