I am a Mean Mom! Just ask my son Kyle how mean I was when he was growing up. I’d torment him by making him clean his room, eat his supper, brush his teeth and the list goes on. But one day, after he spent time chaperoning some young kids at a function, he came up to me with the astounding statement “Thank you for being a Mean Mom!” He finally realized the importance of discipline after spending time with kids who did not grow up with Mean Moms!
One of my fondest papers Kyle brought home from early grade school days was one he wrote about home life. And I quote in my sweet little boy pencil scrawled lingo, “Do not complain you are bored because Mom will give you more work to do!” Ah yes, I am a truly Mean Mom!!
My mean streak goes beyond my poor abused son… cats, dogs and yes even horses fall prey to my rules and regulations of how to behave throughout life. Many years ago, I had a wonderful Springer Spaniel named Megan. Megan had one vice – a love for garbage and that love happened as soon as I walked out the front door. She loved to tip the garbage pail over and then proceed to chew everything into pieces and scatter it across the kitchen floor…especially wonderful when there were coffee grounds and egg shells to mix in with the mess. Mean Mom finally broke that messy habit by placing poor little Megan into the garbage pail and telling her to stay! Whether it was the humiliation of it all or the fact the garbage suddenly wasn’t inviting after spending a whole 5 minutes sitting in the mess my Mean Mom tactics finally won and the garbage and my clean kitchen was safe from the garbage monster!
My horses have experienced Mean Mom also. Old Al quickly discovered he is not allowed to chase the other horses from my scratches or he would be chased away by the Mean Mom and not receive any attention at all. He also learned that if he did not behave while being ridden, he would have to work the dreaded circle pattern for “Hours!” Zippy learned that Mean Mom was much worse than the feared WATER. He found it amazing how Mean Mom never got mad, we just worked and worked until darn it…how the heck did she get me to stand in this puddle?
Being such a perfect boy, Harley hasn’t seen Mean Mom emerge too often but when the sunscreen for his pink nose comes out, he quickly discovered Mean Moms don’t get mad….but they do win out in the end so he might as well give in right away and let it happen. Harley recently decided that he saw absolutely no point in stepping into the trailer. He wasn’t scared, he wasn’t even particularly upset at my command to step up…he just stood at the gate and thought he would wait me out. Well Mean Mom emerged and made Harley work away from the trailer at backing, lunging and various other jobs until he decided inside the trailer was the one spot he didn’t have to work.
Yes, I am a Mean Mom but I love my “kids” and my kids love me! When I see the confidence and skills built by the hard work and respect Mean Mom demands, maybe being mean isn’t so bad – especially when it’s followed by lots of love and praise.