I'm No Saint

I think that doing Saturday Jobs with my kids would try the patience of a saint. And let me confess now - I am no saint. Although my older boys have no problem with quickly doing their jobs even before I am up out of bed on a Saturday morning, my younger boys seem to think that it is the day to drive each other crazy (and thus by default drive their parents nuts too).

Brett usually takes the boys with him when he runs errands on Saturdays but for whatever reason (preserving his own sanity) he switched his day around today and left for the store this morning. After only two days of the kids going off-track I am already ready to sign them up for a different track just to get them back into school. Are you allowed to do that? Actually, I exaggerate.

But there are moments in the day when it feels that way, such as on a Saturday when I just can't get Giggles to be quiet for two seconds. In all honesty I don't really expect it of him (I dream of it - but don't expect it). Children with ADHD have a hard time being quiet; when Giggles has an unpleasant task such as cleaning he rambles on even more to keep himself going. For example, this is what I witnessed Giggles say and do as he talked to himself in just the last three minutes of his Saturday jobs:


"It doesn’t fit. O.k. let’s see here. Let’s scream like little babies.. let’s just get 16 bags - of candies.
I just wasted a bag. Is this a bag or is it full of meat? I just ate a bag – I just ate a bag of candy. I just ate a bag. I just ate a bag."

(swinging an empty bag around through the house)

"Ducky, ducky, ducky, ducky, ducky, ducky, ducky, ducky, ducky."

"Last one, last thing.

(Running out the door to the garage carrying a full garbage bag.)

"All’s I need to do is put the other things in the black garbage – plus the other one."

"I just made it worse. Fine. Now the upstairs. (swinging an empty garbage bag)

"Spiderman. Spiderman. Superman. Spiderman. Spiderman. Oooooooooooo. Here’s the garbage." (swinging the full garbage that hits the wall) Whoa! Skinnyman. This is a skinny one. (referring to the garbage) Slenderman."


Now imagine listening to this for an hour as well as teasing his younger brother. I finally resorted to listening to music on my iPod. As I said... I'm no saint. I love my kids but take me away Imagine Dragons!