I got up at my usual time this morning, but it so happened that my 4 year old, Matthew got up early. Yesterday, he had gotten a stuffed monkey at the zoo and he wanted to play. He handed me a stuffed elephant and we started role playing. We traveled to see the rhinos. We were swinging on vines through the jungle. We even headed to “the bathroom area” for a pit stop. He told me there was an area where some mean and grumpy elephants lived. He said that we didn’t want to go there...but we did.
Now at the “mean elephant area” he advised that I was now one of them. Matthew fed me my lines: “Say, ’I am a grumpy elephant and I told you not to come here’”. I said my lines exactly as he had instructed. Matthew said, “O.K.” then started to move backwards. I decided to ad lib, “Could help me not to be so grumpy?”, I asked. “Yes”, He said and now I am quoting Matthew:
“There are five rules you must do to not be so grumpy: 1. hug, 2. kiss, 3. turn blue (Blue is his favorite color. I guess this would help me feel better to “be” my favorite color), 4. Turn around and sit down (be playful?), and 5. Just be nice.”
I promise, I did not coach him at all. Those were his “rules” to follow, in that order. I think these might work. So the next time I wake up grumpy or someone or something puts me into a bad mood, I am going to try these five “rules” to help me not to be so grumpy.
Will you take the “Matthew’s Rules for not being so Grumpy” challenge? It is worth a try.
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just and God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32
No comments:
Post a Comment