3.14.2010

I Don't Want Him To Be Your Friend

Can I share a secret? The influence I have over my children sometimes scares me. It's an influence I am honored to have, but sometimes the responsibility of it all is overwhelming
The things I make priorities, the words I chose to say, the attitudes I have - they are all things echoed by my boys.

I found this trunk at the Thrift Store a couple weeks ago for $5. 
The fact that it was wooden more than made up for it's less than desirable character motif and I knew it would be an easy project to repaint it - in fact it's sitting on my back porch now one coat away from completion.
 
The Sponge Bob design on it made for a humorous exchange with Judah, but at the same time shows the enormous influence I have on the way he thinks of things.

As I was loading the wooden trunk in the car Judah says to me;
"Mommy, what is that thing?"
-"It's a trunk Judah."
-"Oh. Well, who is on it?"
-"No one."
-"NO! It's someone. I saw it. Who is it?"
-"No one you need to know."
-"No, no! He's my friend. Who is he?"
-"His name is Sponge Bob. And he is not your friend."
-"Yes. He is my friend."
-"Judah, you didn't even know what his name was. He's not your friend." 
"He is my friend. I like him. He's my friend."
(pause)
-"Mommy, what are we doing with him?"
-"I am going to paint over it so it matches your bedroom."
-"NO, NO! You can't paint him. He's my friend."
-"Judah, mommy doesn't like Sponge Bob. Mommy doesn't want Sponge Bob to be your friend - and mommy is going to paint over him."

-"Ok mommy. He's not my friend."

And that was that. He even watched me paint over Sponge Bob and didn't say a word about his 20-second friend disappearing under a thick coat of Secret Passage colored paint.

6 comments:

Corinne Cunningham said...

I'm giggling.. isn't it scary and amazing all at once? That mama power... a crazy thing.

(I would have done the exact same thing by the way!)

Awakened said...

that's such a good story! judah is so friendly and i'm glad he makes friends so quickly : )
i can tell ya'll have done such a good job so far raising them, way to go!

Catherine said...

Sponge Bob is awful!! I am glad that you do not like him either!

Anne @ Sincerely, Britches said...

You go girl! :)
Great reminder though that little eyes are always watching us...

Jessica said...

Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was maybe the only mama who thought Sponge Bob (and BArt Simpson and all of those ridiculous - and strangely, yellow - characters) didn't need an open invitation into my home.

It's scary, isn't it? Leah's not quite there yet, and I feel it. Phew.

Kristin said...

Oh yeah. Scary. I hear myself in the things Helen says all the time...and it has really made me change the way I talk about myself. I don't want to give her body image problems!

I also hate Sponge Bob. You are not alone in that!

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