"you better not make me get your father"

"You better not make me get your father" are words that I will not be using when it comes to disciplining Ben and Cecilia.

Yesterday morning I got into a conversation with Cecilia's teacher at daycare. I was commenting on how good both Ben and Cecilia have been lately. Sure kids have good days and bad days, and most of the recent days have been good. I attribute a lot of this to our parenting. We work hard at having the kids mind us, and I think it is paying off. Well, I should clarify: we don't really parent Cecilia yet, as much as just care for her. Ben minds us (most of the time). It isn't easy, but it is worth it.

As our conversation continued, Cecilia's said that when her children were young her husband worked second shift, so she was a single mom a lot too. She said that she had to be the loving mother as well as the disciplinarian. She was never able to say "you better not make me get your father". And you know what, I, too, have never said "you better not make me get your father". I don't think I will ever be able to say that. Ben needs to mind ME, first and foremost. Yes, he needs to mind Steve as well, but day in day out it is me that is the primary caregiver.

I knew going into this that I was going to be the disciplinarian. But it wasn't until yesterday that it realized that I would probably not be uttering the words "you better not make me get your father".