A family that improves together… stays together

I’ve had my share of self-help books and have read hundreds of personal improvement articles.  Some lessons stick, some don’t, and the rest is just stubborn old me.  So what happens if your bad habits start affecting your kids?  I don’t know about yours, but mine made jars.

Mom’s a potty mouth and dad whines allllllll thhhhe time!

I didn’t want the kid to feel left out, so I created her own jar.  She came home from school, gave me a kiss, grabbed an apple and looked at the jar (I left it beside the apples on purpose).  After reading the label, she shrugged her shoulders, tilted her head, smiled and let out a sigh and here is the discussion that followed:

The kid: “Oh mom, you know you’ll be financing this anyway right?”
Me:  “No.  You’re using your own money for this, I’m tired of picking up your s##t!”
The kid:  “Ooh you just said sweet honey iced tea… I guess you need to put a quarter in.”
Me:  Well you left your sox on the table, that’s two quarters!

Feeling I won this battle, I smirked.  She smiled, opened my swear jar, grabbed two quarters, put them in her trail jar and said “See mom, I said you’d be financing this anyway”.  She hugged me before walking away and said “I’m gonna do my homework now, I love you”.