When Mom's Not Happy...

Have you seen that bumper sticker or license plate holder or meme?  It says, "When Mom's not happy, nobody's happy."  It's simple enough, right?  The kids and hubby need to keep Mom happy, because then EVERYONE will be happy. 

At least, that's the common interpretation.  But a lesson from Disneyland got me thinking about it a different way.

We were getting out of the car right after parking.  There was a mom next to us with two school age boys and a toddler.  The boys were obviously excited.  They were talking about the rides they were going to go on, and which park first, and how long they would be willing to wait for different rides.  They were working together, compromising, and had a great energy to them.

As they set off, Mom turned around and told them, most crankily, that if there's any bickering, arguing, fighting, disrespect, etc, she’ll take them straight home.

These boy’s countenances went from joy to despair almost instantaneously.  As they walked away, their shoulders were hunched, faces forlorn, and all the joy and companionship gone.  They started bickering and hitting each other.  I thought "If Mom stays true to her words, this is going to be a short trip for those boys." 

Was she wrong to give them consequences for their behaviors?  Of course not!  It's a great idea to set behavior expectations so everyone knows what's acceptable.  And her warnings were probably based on past experiences. The impression I got, though, was that she was expecting them to misbehave, and was dreading having to deal with them when they do. Remember - our children are going to live up to the expectations we have for them, be they good or bad.

No matter the attitudes of the people around us. we have a tremendous power to bring happiness to ourselves and our families, just by how we choose to feel and respond.  When we choose to be cranky, like this mom at Disneyland did, that is going to rub off on everyone else around us.  If we choose to be happy, others will follow suit, too.