Parenting and the Boomerang Effect

Do you know that saying, about how things can come back to haunt you? Well this week my "oh so wise" parenting advice came back to kick me in the butt!

I really pride myself on the sage advice I give my son. Advice about how to be a good person, be honest, stand up for yourself and above all else don't be afraid to face your fears! Up until now I thought of myself as a model mom, because I say and do all the right things. I never intentionally hurt others and am an all around great person. In fact I thought of myself as a model citizen...at least I did until I fell off my pedestal.

I was in the store with my son the other day when something really embarassing happened! I was standing in the fruit section, blissfully serene and peaceful, checking out the apples, when I recognized an old colleague of mine. This by itself is no big deal,that is if you don't have anything to hide. The problem is that I have some unresolved issues with this person and so they were the last person I wanted to see.

Survival Instincts Kick In!

I froze for a second but then my handy dandy survival instincts (cowardly lion genes) kicked in and I quickly hid behind the juice cooler. This would have worked out just fine if my son hadn't approached me at that very moment and said in a loud voice, "Mom, what are you doing?"  I quickly grabbed his arm, pulled him behind the cooler and whispered, "Be quiet! There's somebody out there that I don't want to see!" Now my son is a smart, no nonsense kid and is always asking for my advice about life. You know, advice about things like how to handle uncomfortable situations, so you can imagine how shocked he was to witness his "oh so wise, adult, rational" mom acting like one of his teenage friends. I wish I could say that it ended there (sigh), but of course it got worse.

I peeked out from behind the cooler and came face to face with... who else but the person I was trying so hard to avoid. Thankfully I am a very resourceful person, so I quickly rearranged my face into a look of complete surprise and shouted out a warm greeting, "Oh my goodness, I never expected to see you here!" I was so close to pulling it off when my honest, no nonsense son said "Mom, what are you talking about! You said you were hiding from her!" I was terribly embarassed and could feel my face turning a bright shade of red. Looking at my nemesis I giggled (like a fool) and said "That's my son! He is such a joker! Ha, ha, ha! Well I have to get going! I have to get home and feed the animals! See you later!" I quckly pinched my son, grabbed his arm and ran out of the store. We jumped into the car and took off like a bat out of hell!

On the way home I had to eat humble pie and explain why I don't take my own advice. My son, looked at me and said "It's okay mom, I know your not perfect but I love you anyway.

From now on I am going to add the following disclaimer to any advice I give: In the end you never know what you're going to do until it actually happens!