The Transporter Got a Promotion

The Transporter has been promoted. He just got his driver's license yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't know who is more excited, the boy who drove himself to school this morning, or the mom who now not only has a Transporter, but also an errand man at her beck and call.

How did I manage to convince a 16 year-old to be willing to drop what he's doing (say, holding an XBOX controller at a friend's house) and for example, go pick up his brother from robotics club? Simple. Money.

He has to pay for his insurance, but we'll buy his gas if he'll be our go-to guy. I'm so excited to hand him a grocery list and my debit card and continue writing. Or whatever, but I'm thinking I've just gained oodles more writing time. Maybe Worlds Colliding (my sci-fi/thriller WIP) will get some more words added!

Or I'll be able to be able to spend more time returning visits. I give myself a B- for my current rate, but of course I'd like an A+. Over-achiever and all that stuff. The possibilities are endless.

He'd had grand plans for his first evening of having a license. These plans included, “Bye Mom, I'll be home later.” Instead he opted for, “I'm going take OYT to Game Force. I think he'd like to be along the first time I get to use my license.” So as it ended up, it was still pretty much “see you later” only he took his brother to dinner and bought himself a new ice scraper, and one for me since all of mine seem to vanish. They had a great time, and as their mother, I couldn't have been more thrilled that he chose his brother for his first adventure. That's the kind of thing OYT will remember and cherish forever.

Personally, I will always remember sitting with The Engineer at the kitchen table which overlooks the street, watching him drive away, actually excited to go to school.  We're holding hands, and both of us are a bit misty. It's was a good thing. Life is Good.

~Tina

Get off Your Brother!

I think most moms and dads develop phrases they use to get the attention of their children. We have of course, the classics.

“Don't make me pull this car over!”

“If I have to come back there...”

“Wait until your father gets home!”

In our house, the most used phrase is, “Get off your brother!” It's a handy phrase when you have two boys. There's no need to investigate the situation at length, because inevitably one brother will be “on” the other. It's generic enough that it has multiple applications.

Wrestling too hard for the younger one? “Get off your brother!”

Clinging and hugging too much? “Get off your brother!”

General pestering and annoying? “Get off your brother!”

Hear someone shrieking in misery? “Get off your brother!”

It's funny to hear their responses, because they admit their guilt without meaning to. After hearing the phrase, one or both will say, “But Mom, I was only...” It's especially good when they both have something to defend themselves with. Then you know it's a true brotherly spat and that both are partially to blame. A simple, “Get off your brother!” is all that's needed to rectify the situation.

Some situations are more complicated. “But I'm not ON my brother!” This said after some physical confrontation is over and though he is indeed not PRESENTLY on his brother, he sure was a minute ago, which I why I heard screaming. These are the ones that are harder to untangle and figure out the true culprit who must then be dealt with. Sure, the big brother may have put the little one in a headlock and caused discomfort, but why? Surely there was some instigation going on. I'm not saying there haven't been random cases of headlocking happening, but most of the time, the little one has done something irritating causing the older to resort to said method of restraint.

The phrase continues to be useful even now that they are teenagers. Of course The Transporter could best OYT in most altercations of a combative nature, but these days, the “on your brother” is more metaphorical. “Get off your brother!” “But he hasn't done the dishes! I'm just trying to get him to do the dishes!” My job, not yours. Get OFF.

We have a new phrase, too. They've really bonded this school year, and now I get to see them “playing well with each other” and say, “What a nice brother you have!”

Does your family have any handy phrases that you use repeatedly in the wrangling of your children? Did your parents? Please share.

~Tina