Ah… the family meeting.  Have you ever tried to have one?  In our house we all gather around to discuss things like curfews, allowance, chores and bad behavior.  I know I could speak to them all separately about this stuff, but I’ve leaned that it’s much better to have a  witnesses because inevitably, somebody will fail at what’s expected and offer the excuse , “But mom, you never said that.”
But indeed, I did.
What annoys me the most about these family meetings is how everybody nods their heads and says exactly what I want to hear at the exact moment I want to hear it.   Do they know in advance that they’re not going to do one single thing we talked about?  Should I remain hopeful that when they look at me and nod that finally, they actually “get me?”
Let’s face it, they don’t.
Throughout the years I’ve called these family meetings and said things like this:   “I’m shutting of the internet at night;  if you want to borrow something from me you may, but only if you give me something valuable as a deposit,” and “please put things away after you’re done with them.”  You might recognize these results.
The internet
Me.  “No internet after 10pm because none of you are getting enough sleep.”Â
Them: ” You’re right mom. Â We understand.”
              One night after I put my policy into place
Husband: Â “I haven’t gotten to where I can shut down the internet by each device yet, so just leave it on.”
Borrowing
Them: Â “Mom, where are the scissors?”
Me: Â “I will let you have them for a dollar deposit.”
             The next day. Â
Me:  “Where are my scissors?”
Them: Â “I thought I’d just keep them. Â It’s only like, a buck, right?”
Cleaning Up
Them: Â “Where’s the honey?”
Me: Â “It’s in the shed in the back of the yard.”
Them: Â “Why? Â Because I didn’t put it away?”
Me: Â “Yes.”
Them: Â “That’s okay, I’ll just use sugar.”
I thought she couldn’t live without honey in her tea.  Seems she can.  The honey bear is still sitting it the shed in the back yard. Â
I’ll get it in the spring.Â
