By Sue Maakestad Even discipline can occasionally benefit from a touch of light-heartedness. No ground rules were laid for our first personally hosted ice cream sundae bar. Big mistake. Having set out spoons, sundae cups, and bowls containing nuts, cherries, coconut, chocolate chips, syrups and whipped cream, Mama (who should have known better), innocently announced: "Okay, guys, it's make your own... Hey!" she said, as the table was swallowed up in a dizzying blur of humanity, and ingredients began to erupt from the center of the live volcano, "Hey! No diving head first into the serving bowls! Come up for air, you guys, huh?" "Yeah, guys!" Papa added, in a Don't-Look-Now-But-Your-Big-Smelly-Toenail-Just-Crossed-Over-The-Line tone of voice, "Man, you guys! Please! Don't be OINKS!!" Spoons halted poised in midair. Stray shreds of coconut dangled from eyebrows and noses. Bits and pieces of maraschino cherry peeked furtively out over the tops of several shirt pockets. Everyone looked at each other a bit sheepishly, then hazarded a glance at the authorities. A long uh-oh moment of silence was passed around the room and shared equally by all, as the reality of over-enthusiasm sank in. A small voice, later identified as Daniel's, piped up from an obscure corner just below table level: "Oink, Oink!....Hee, hee!" he giggled. Papa's stern demeanor immediately dissolved and several kids' suppressed laughs escaped through their noses. The Board of Sundae Consumers resumed their endeavors, having adopted a much more civilized set of manners. And, "Oink, oink! Hee, hee!" became a permanent addition to the Maakestad Byword Hall of Fame.
About the Author: Chris and Sue Maakestad, married 28 years and counting, living in Tucson, AZ where they've raised and homeschooled their 8 kids: 4 boys, 4 girls: Dina, Naomi, Nathanael, Debbie, Ben, Steve, Joanna and Daniel. Sue has published an article in the journal of the Arizona Families for Home Education which you can find online at afhe.org. It's called "Run! Squawk! Flap! Getting your Home School Off the Ground (a guide for the chickenhearted)." She has also written extensively for and edited the Aztec Press at Pima Community College and won several awards for writing in the Southwest Conference of the JACC (Journalism Association of Community Colleges). |
