by Robin Downton-Poirier

Created on: January 10, 2009

Never Know What to Expect

Having two boys has always been an adventure and I've learned never to be surprised by what happens around our house or outside of it as the case may be. The boys can get into more mischief and cause more trouble than I ever imagined. Whether it be hooking socks onto the ceiling fan to see how far they'd fly or doing backflips on the bed 'like the skateboarders do', there's always something in the works. But, of all the things they do, the fighting seems to disturb me the most. My boys, four years apart, are nowhere near the best of friends on any given day, although the were close when the youngest was born. But, as the years passed and toys, time, and attention needed to be shared, things changed. As they got older and the youngest decided he wasn't 'taking it anymore' (yes, he did declare this around 4 years old), he began fighting back. Their fighting can be anything from quiet bickering to fists flying, usually both within moments of each other.

Both my husband and I work during the week, so we make sure the weekends are 'family time'. We will often do things such as going to a movie, a hike on one of the many trails we have close to our home, or just visiting with relatives. We do, however, seem to spend at least part of the weekend time driving in our car, either running errands or simply for pleasure.

We have a lot of scenic routes around our community and, during the fall, enjoy driving a few of these routes, taking in the mosaic scenery as the leaves change hues. With the radio on playing some of our old favorites, usually these drives are a fantastic way to relax. At least until the arguing starts.

On one of our 'peaceful' Sunday drives, the boys' backseat disagreements were wearing on both mine and my husband's nerves. Unable to stand it any longer, my husband quickly pulled the car to the side of the dirt road as dust flew up behind us. Startled into silence by the sudden move, the boys' faces were frozen in shock as my husband whipped his head around and glared, stating "That's it! Who wants the first spanking?"

Without missing a beat, my youngest, a mere 5 years old at the time, pointed to his brother and said "He does."

If nothing else, the tension was broken between them as my husband pulled back onto the road and I laughed uncontrollably. We finished our drive simply shaking our heads in amusement. For once, he didn't want the time, attention, or to be first.

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