I need to get that sign off my back. Help! You know. The one that says kick me!!!!!!!!!!!
I have not come so close to commiting child abuse as I came this week. In the old days we would have called it discipline and grandparents were welcomed to do it as well as parents.
It started like this. I had Chloe to keep for a week, after the wedding. Chloe wanted to go to the beach so I thought I'd enjoy that so arrangments were made. I began to worry about what I'd do if Chloe got in trouble swimming the ocean where no lifeguard is. I invited DGS to go. He is 15yrs old, Chloe is 11yrs. old. Then DS called and asked if brides DS could go also. He is 13 yrs old. I got a little anxious that I couldn't handle the 3 of them my self so I invited the middle DGD. She is 17 yrs. old. . I do not know what possessed me. It appeared that she and I were getting along though we havn't since she was 12 yrs old. Day 1 was ok. It was spent packing and driving to within a couple of hours of Panama City Beach. Next day we reached Panama City and I planned to let them go to a water park as a treat. ( This was a low budget trip, and our lodging was free). 17 yr old didn't want to stand in the lines and vetoed the Idea. She had said earlier that she needed a nerve pill . She saw a mall and wanted to stop and shop. I vetoed that. The two younger ones still wanted adventure so we settled on a gocart ride for everyone. 17 yr old declined but we didn't have to wait on the others long before we were back on the road to our lodging. It was a little house across the road from a vacant lot and the beach. The rules were; bring our own linins and leave the house tidy. It was a bad choice of places to take obnoxious children with no upbringing. 13 yr old used the house owners towells and placed them back in the stack "unclean and damp" with the clean towells. They would 'nt reuse a towell from one trip to the beach or from one shower to the next and they took up to 4 showers a day. I had to stay on them about cleaning off their feet before entering the house. 17 yr old had made the grocery list and helped pack the food that we scarffed from my house before leaving home. Our car was packed to the gills so we opted to get groceries the morning after arriving. We had agreed that we would make do with the food we had packed for 1st nights suppper though it was scrappy. 17 yr old ended up storming out of the house on foot in search of something to eat that suited her. 15 yr old decided he needed to go with her. I wondered whether to call the police or go out and search for them but opted to sit tight a little while. I discovered 11 yr old going outside to talk on the phone so I would not hear her. She was in touch with 17 yr old and when I confronted her, told me They had found a sub shop, over 2 hours later they arrived back at the house and were sitting out side eating their purchase. When I went outside to speak to them they told me, I didn't even care enough to call and make sure thay were OK. I Made some remark about them storming off and being rude and they said that I was rude for asking Amanda to taste the laughing cow cheese that I was going to substitute for Mayo in the tuna salade since she had left out the Mayo. She was the one that didn't want to get groceries that evening. The weekend got worse and even my dear Chloe was in the thick of the obnoxious behavior. I would have come on home but I kept thinking things were going to get better and we were also supposed to spend a couple of days with my aunt and uncle on the way home at the end of the week. Now I have to face my oldest son and DIL who always support the childrens story instead of mine and I am the villin. I knew better!! I have already talked to Chloe's Dad who will pick her up this evening. I am going to get a discipline point because I will call in sick for work rather than allow 11 yr old and 13 yr old to go back to their cousin's house today. I also want to have face to face contact with DS when he picks up their children. I am glad I got to talk to him first. The older childrens father had left a message on the younger childerens parents phone, wanting him to call. I am worried about what the older ones concocted to get their parents in their camp to be angry with me. I did get angry and called them all Brats and threw away the breakfast I had prepared on the last morning there ( it wasn't breakfast food according to the older 2 who refused to eat it so the younger 2 quit eating it.) and they did have to wiat till I could stop somewhere so the could go in and us their money to buy their own food. That put them around 1:30 pm eating their 1st meal. I had to do all the cleaning and tidying up of the house without help from them. They sat in a bedroom commisurating over how mean I am. I have cried and am having to try very hard not to vow never to take any of them any where again and not to ever do anything for them again. My Dad would have spanked me so hard I couldn't sit for a week, If I disrespected anyone like that. I thank God for parents that raised me to honor my parents and my grandparents and to be polite and greateful and considerate of other peoples posessions. There was more to tell but I have typed way to much. I wish this could be fixed but it can't.