Everyone knows that Violet is hard headed. Stubborn to a fault, if Violet doesn't want to do something...she doesn't do it. Simple as that.
Remember the school picture fiasco of 2012? Yeah. Prime example.
Since moving to Iowa, Violet has loosened up a bit. She's still stubborn, but not nearly as much as she used to be.
So, it was a surprise when I went to pick her up at the babysitter and found out that she had been involved in a stand off of sorts - a battle of wills, if you will.
Violet's babysitter requires all of the kids to pray before they eat their meals. I do not have a problem with this. Do we pray at home before we eat our meals? No. We pray at church and pray before bed, but we all suffer from being related to the Maxwell family, so when it's time to eat...we don't mess around. No time for prayer, we dive into food. Anyway....
Apparently Violet had decided that praying before lunch wasn't her style. The first time she did it Deb, her babysitter, let it slide...thinking that maybe she had suffered a sudden bout of shyness.
However, the second time she did it was different.
"Violet, aren't you going to pray with the other kids."
Violet answered with silence.
"Violet, aren't you thankful for your food? Aren't you thankful for your life?"
Violet just stared at Deb. No emotion. Just stare.
So Deb decided to start the prayer. All the other kids, all boys, said the prayer...didn't even bat an eye. Deb looked at Violet and Violet answered her with this look, "Well, what are you gonna do about it."
Did I mention that Violet and Deb are a lot alike? Sweet people, but stubborn. Violet had gotten into a battle of wills with someone who has much more experience in it. She held her own though.
They stared at each other, for at least a minute. A heated stare. Eye brows raised. Each daring the other to back down.
Finally, after realizing that Violet was not changing her mind, Deb made her go to the corner.
She said there for five hours. Deb kept saying, "Would you like to come out now? All you have to do is say your prayer." And Violet simply said, "I'm fine." And stayed in the corner.
Naturally I was mortified to hear the story when I got to pick her up. Not so much about Violet not eating (because truthfully she doesn't eat very much) but that she had entered into a battle of wills with someone she is supposed to respect and listen to.
Sigh.
So, when she got home I said, "Violet. Why did you do that."
I was half afraid that she would answer me in a demon voice.
She simply said, "I not want too."
Sigh.
I said, "Well, the prayer is simple and you should be thankful. How about you give it a try tomorrow."
To which she simply replied, "no".
Well, I really don't want her spending her days in the corner...and not eating, so I thought, "I have to end this somehow."
So the kids and I all grouped together in an Avengers type group and we prayed about everything.
We prayed if we were going potty "Dear God, thank you for this bathroom..."
We prayed when we let the dogs out "Dear God, thank you for this obnoxious dog..."
We prayed when we did laundry. "Oh Lord, thank you for this huge amount of laundry..."
We prayed all night long. About everything. All of us. It was fun.
The next day Violet went to the babysitter and she DID pray for her at lunch. No corner time was needed.
She did throw her own personal twist in though of course.
"Forever and ever, Onaman"
Remember the school picture fiasco of 2012? Yeah. Prime example.
Since moving to Iowa, Violet has loosened up a bit. She's still stubborn, but not nearly as much as she used to be.
So, it was a surprise when I went to pick her up at the babysitter and found out that she had been involved in a stand off of sorts - a battle of wills, if you will.
Violet's babysitter requires all of the kids to pray before they eat their meals. I do not have a problem with this. Do we pray at home before we eat our meals? No. We pray at church and pray before bed, but we all suffer from being related to the Maxwell family, so when it's time to eat...we don't mess around. No time for prayer, we dive into food. Anyway....
Apparently Violet had decided that praying before lunch wasn't her style. The first time she did it Deb, her babysitter, let it slide...thinking that maybe she had suffered a sudden bout of shyness.
However, the second time she did it was different.
"Violet, aren't you going to pray with the other kids."
Violet answered with silence.
"Violet, aren't you thankful for your food? Aren't you thankful for your life?"
Violet just stared at Deb. No emotion. Just stare.
So Deb decided to start the prayer. All the other kids, all boys, said the prayer...didn't even bat an eye. Deb looked at Violet and Violet answered her with this look, "Well, what are you gonna do about it."
Did I mention that Violet and Deb are a lot alike? Sweet people, but stubborn. Violet had gotten into a battle of wills with someone who has much more experience in it. She held her own though.
They stared at each other, for at least a minute. A heated stare. Eye brows raised. Each daring the other to back down.
Finally, after realizing that Violet was not changing her mind, Deb made her go to the corner.
She said there for five hours. Deb kept saying, "Would you like to come out now? All you have to do is say your prayer." And Violet simply said, "I'm fine." And stayed in the corner.
Naturally I was mortified to hear the story when I got to pick her up. Not so much about Violet not eating (because truthfully she doesn't eat very much) but that she had entered into a battle of wills with someone she is supposed to respect and listen to.
Sigh.
So, when she got home I said, "Violet. Why did you do that."
I was half afraid that she would answer me in a demon voice.
She simply said, "I not want too."
Sigh.
I said, "Well, the prayer is simple and you should be thankful. How about you give it a try tomorrow."
To which she simply replied, "no".
Well, I really don't want her spending her days in the corner...and not eating, so I thought, "I have to end this somehow."
So the kids and I all grouped together in an Avengers type group and we prayed about everything.
We prayed if we were going potty "Dear God, thank you for this bathroom..."
We prayed when we let the dogs out "Dear God, thank you for this obnoxious dog..."
We prayed when we did laundry. "Oh Lord, thank you for this huge amount of laundry..."
We prayed all night long. About everything. All of us. It was fun.
The next day Violet went to the babysitter and she DID pray for her at lunch. No corner time was needed.
She did throw her own personal twist in though of course.
"Forever and ever, Onaman"
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