Consistency is Key

Well, I've learned another lesson the hard way. For the past few days, I've been rather inconsistent in staying on top of Grace's behavior. I've felt sorry for her during her illness, and I've just overlooked several things that should have been dealt with.

Today I paid for it. Her behavior has been awful, just awful. I think I set a new personal record for the number of spankings I gave in one day. Now that she's feeling better, she has all this energy and is ready to go, go go! This newfound energy combined with Mama's lack of discipline over the past few days has resulted in her testing the limits over, and over, and over again.

You know, it's really hard to discipline a child who is sick or in pain...we tend to make excuses and justify negative behaviors. While I think it's wise to be more patient and take into account how our kids feel, we just shouldn't let obvious "no-nos" slip by. It sends a mixed message and communicates to our kids that they aren't expected to obey in all situations.

Like I said, I learned this lesson the hard way, and I can only pray that tomorrow is a better day. Many times today I had to check my heart and say a short prayer to calm myself before I responded or administered discipline. When Todd got home, I made a Diet Coke run just to get out of the house for a few minutes before I put her to bed. Interestingly enough, she was happier and more affectionate than usual when we said goodnight. Ironically, I was happier than usual to say goodnight as well!