My Kidneys Hurt

     I just spent an hour being kicked and punched in the kidneys and ribs by Punk.  Why?  Because I have read that one should ignore undesirable behavior, so I ignored it for the most part.  I did take her shoes off, which was a mistake, because then she used her big toes to really get into my side.  I did tell her to stop, maybe threatened to cut her toe off once or twice.  But when she didn't stop, I resorted to ignoring it mostly.  Why was she kicking me?  Because I wouldn't take her on a walking trail that she had JUST walked an hour earlier with Girl Scouts.  Why did she want to rewalk the trail?  Because I wasn't there to take pictures for the blog.  Seriously.  Apparently this blog is a dangerous hobby.  Now my kidneys hurt constantly.  Ironically, someone did take pics and look... a faceless photo for my blog.  One identical to one that I would have taken.  Ugh.
     Thank you, Punk.  That's her in the red.  Red to match her temper.  After about an hour of using my kidneys as punching bags, Mouth got defensive and struck her in her sides with a soda bottle, pretty hard.  Punk went into tears and stopped hitting me.  Thank YOU, Mouth.  I didn't condone it and Mouth had consequences, but I was grateful for the behavior's end.  She later apologized ON HER OWN for hitting Punk.  She even offered to bring Punk her supper since she was sent to her room for the rest of the evening.  I was in shock.  And Punk also apologized to me, though she needed prompting.

     Anyway, our day was a pretty lazy one.  I pretty much just edited pictures and caught up the blog all morning.  I talked some with that family friend of ours and got some incredible news about Mouth.  More on that next week, you can count on it.  It might be all I talk about.
     But I had no coffee this morning, so I took a nap in the early afternoon.  I woke up in time for the bus, went to collect Punk at the lake where she ended up after her Girl Scout hike, then brought her to soccer.  That's when she refused to play and resorted to beating me up.  I'm sure that I know where Punk gets it from, but I can't do a thing about genetics.  So we will work on proper ways to show anger and we will pray for her to realize how she makes others feel.  Until then, I'm usually pretty great at ignoring.

     So onto my Joy Dare.  Today is 3 Gifts Redeemed.  Another Merriam-Webster moment, I think.

1

a :  to buy back :  repurchase

b :  to get or win back

2

:  to free from what distresses or harms: as

a :  to free from captivity by payment of ransom

b :  to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental

c :  to release from blame or debt :  clear

d :  to free from the consequences of sin

3

:  to change for the better :  reform

4

:  repair, restore

5

a :  to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby

b (1) :  to remove the obligation of by payment <the United States Treasury redeems savings bonds on demand> (2) :  to exchange for something of value <redeem trading stamps>

c :  to make good :  fulfill

6

a :  to atone for :  expiate <redeem an error>

b (1) :  to offset the bad effect of (2) :  to make worthwhile :  retrieve 

 

     Wow, I could go in a ton of directions with this one.  Too bad I can't think of anything from today that goes well with these.
1.  I guess I did redeem Mouth for her violence.  Sure, she had a consequence, but normally I would have been all over that.  Today I redeemed her with having to do something for Punk as a way to give back.  I didn't put her in time out or send her to her room as usual.  Selfish I suppose, but she was defending a fellow family member and I tell her that defending a family member against violence is her duty.  She stepped up, even though I had asked her not to.  Her intentions were good, so I didn't blame her for her actions and she was redeemed on that count.  I was grateful for the break of being hit.

2.  Gosh, this is a hard one.  Can't wait til tomorrow, that one will be easy.  Ok, redeemed... Well, that wonderful lady who dropped off sweaters for me, she redeemed Boogie by offering us a pair of thick tights when I walked out of the house forgetting his pants.  It was a chilly day and I had originally just thrown him in the van without pants to get the girls off the bus.  Then I remembered that Punk needed to be picked up, so I ran in to get pants and a couple other things while MOUTH buckled him in, then somehow left without the pants.  It was not good, but she saved us and it isn't the first time.  She pretty much rocks and we are always grateful to have her in our lives.

3.  The fact that we have not been in the Troop for the last few years is not affecting whether or not we can go to the amazingly awesome trip next month.  So in a sense, we were redeemed.  We can still go and they can even cover half of Punk's expense.  I can't stinking wait.  I am so thankful for all the opportunities that have opened up even in just the past few weeks.  It's been wonderful.

Well, I'm off to sleep away this kidney pain.
So until tomorrow or whenever,