Possessed By The "No" Woman

I'm not sure when it happened.

Perhaps it was between the bowls of Cheerios spilled on my floor and the leaky-diaper-peed-on sheet washings.

Or maybe it was between the "But mommy!!" whining that started before I could even pour the breakfast milk and the episode with the shirt-and-floor-drenched three-year-old standing on the ottoman (now pushed in front of the fish tank) while telling me, "But I was trying to catch a fish."

Or maybe--yes, that must be it--between Amelia yelling "Pee pee!!!" in every store she knew must have a potty and Wyatt bending over dramatically while moaning, "I'm hun-gry" even though he had eaten a banana less than 15 minutes ago.

Somehow, someway, I've become the "No" woman I told myself I'd never be. She's taken over.

When I had but one child, I had the energy to think up cute phrases to avoid the word "no" such as "I don't think so," which I would say in a sing-song voice sure to elicit a smile.

Now? With the twins and their double dose of terrible two-ness plus Wyatt's belief that 100% of what I say just can't possibly be right, it seems I have lost my mental capability to spit out anything other than "no."

I try--oh how I try to emulate what all the brilliant PhDs say parents should say instead of the awful "N" word.

"Yes...we'll do it later." "Yes...you can have it tomorrow." "Yes, of course...after your nap."

But for some reason, the little people hear "Yes" and nothing more, so they continue asking and whining and fussing as I repeat the textbook phrases...

Until I stomp my foot in frustration and yell, "I SAID NO."

The problem? I don't like being the "No" woman. If I were OK with it, maybe I wouldn't feel guilty each time I hear Amelia rattle off her "No, no, no, no, no" at everything, herself.

So, I've been making a special effort lately to say "yes" (not that the little people have noticed).

Yes, you can drink the water instead of playing in it. What else would you do with an outdoor water toy?
Yes, you can play in the rain and splash with great abandon in the mud.
Yes, you can sit in the sandy driveway until your diapers, shoes, and clothes are full of tiny pebbles and sand that I'll be vacuuming up till I'm 90.Yes, your mommy loves you. She feels many days like she's going to lose her mind. But she prays you will all grow up to love your family, love Jesus...and maybe learn to say "Yes" a little more with your own children.