My sister tells a hysterical version of what it was like to do homework when we were kids with my mother. It often involved us doing it at the last minute with my mother dictating what you would write with a shrill "Write it!!!!" if you posed any hint of thinking about the words before putting pen to paper. Although we might have thought what she had to say was wrong it was better to just write the nonsense than hear that command again. She didn't care if it was right, she just wanted it done. For crying out loud! Didn't we realize that she once worked as a teller in a bank? Didn't that give her all of the knowledge one would need to finish a 4th grade essay on the Revolutionary War????
My perspective on motherhood has changed somewhat since my days as a child. I can now see that some of her exasperated anger was misdirected at us. I believe that she felt guilty for not making us do the homework ahead of time. When you wait until the last minute...patience is not a luxury! I believe this because HOMEWORK WITH YOUNG CHILDREN CAN BE A VERY PAINFUL EXPERIENCE!!!
There are times when my oldest is just cooked after a long day at school and homework time seems like the hardest task a person could ask me to do. I sometimes give in and say that she can do it in the morning. Always, when daylight emerges and there are breakfasts to eat, hair to comb, clothes to put on (a whole separate blog, trust me) I regret my decision to let her put off the homework and fight off the urge to scream...."WRITE IT!!!"
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