Got Soap?

For Christmas this year, Gavin/TROY got a R/C airplane. Now flying that airplane has become a weekend must. Usually first thing Saturday morning Troy takes the boys out to fly the airplane. It is great exercise for the boys (they just chase the plane while it is taking off and continue to chase it while it is airborne) and Troy is happy to improve his piloting skills. Gavin has learned some interesting life lessons with the "Super Cub" (the name of this particular model airplane). For example, #1 What goes up must come down (often harder and not in the same condition that it took off). #2 Even though it is "Gavin's airplane", Daddy is the "real Pilot". #3 You must use nice words even when you are truly frustrated. Let me explain #3.

Gavin has an extensive vocabulary. We are very proud of the kid who spoke only Gavinish the first 3-3 1/2 years of his life. I had numerous people ask me when I was going to put him into speech therapy. Well I am happy to say that his speech has improved dramatically however sometimes he picks up a few strays. A few weeks ago I was getting the kids ready for pre-school which includes a lot of yelling on my part, " Gavin get dressed!, Colby eat your lunch, NOW!". While I was taking care of Mazzy I yelled to Gavin, (who was already dressed, which I knew and I really wanted him to put on his shoes) "Gavin get your clothes on!" To which he logically responded, "I have my clothes on YOU IDIOT!" Now for those of you who know Gavin, you know he is not mischevious, mean, rude and usually makes good choices. Well this choice had a logical solution, we had to clean out his mouth with soap. Gavin has never had soap in his mouth before and was deeply affected. Needless to say I was frustrated and more frustrated because I understood where his frustration came from. Back to our R/C Airplane.


So a few days after Gavin's mouth was purified he went flying his R/C airplane with Troy, Colby and Poppy. Troy flew the plane first and had a great flight. Poppy decided that he wanted a go and was doing great when all of the sudden he lost control and started to crash the beloved plane. Gavin in his pure frustration and absolute fury exclaimed at the top of his lungs, "Poppy, you Idiot!". Lucky for Gavin I was not there. However Troy was and Gavin will never forget that grab on the arm! He has since been purified again and now when he hears a word like stupid, idiot, or dumb on a video or movie he tries to turn down the sound so that he does not repeat 'bad' words. One of the difficult parts about being a parent is seeing your kids learning the hard way. Especially when you understand where they are coming from.