SCARE TACTICS...NO JUST PLAIN CHUTZPAH

GEMMA...PROMISING TO BE GOOD FOR CHUTZPAH!

Some of you may say I’m horrible for admitting this and I certainly won’t win Mother of the Year Award this year…but I have been known to use scare tactics when it comes to the kids. I hope they’re not scarred for life…or in therapy (which I’ll offer to pay)…but at times when they don’t want to go to bed, won’t listen, fight with one another, won’t eat dinner or mess their bedroom…Chutzpah comes a calling. Who is Chutzpah? Isn’t this a Hebrew word for audacity or nerve? Well yes…but in my house it’s also a three legged pig wolf who eats children when they don’t listen to their parents. The actual term is Chupacabre which I learned one night watching Dateline or Animal Planet…or maybe both. I was taken with the story of a creature of the night who ate goats and sheep. I couldn’t remember the name Chupacabre and so when I told the story the name came out as Chutzpah….And now when the kids won’t listen to me I warn them that Chutzpah is in the backyard just waiting to prey on small children who are being bad. (I guess this is my version of Where the Wild Things Are).

This past weekend there was an article in the local paper that Zombies were collecting money in the parking lot for some cause (I suppose they were Zombies since its close to Halloween). Anyway 4 year old Gemma saw the picture of a bloodied zombie and asked me…”Mommy are these Zombies going to eat me?” What mother in her right mind wouldn’t say…of course not sweetie…they don’t exist. No not me…I responded by saying “well if you don’t sleep in your own room tonight they might stop by. She was terrified…but at least I’ll get some sleep.