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). |
