Mother, May I?

Take 10 Baby Steps....

Mother, May I?

Yes, you may!

Oh, Mother, May I...the best childhood game of my memory. Or, maybe it was Dodge Ball by the front door foyer. Either way, I now know why my mother enjoyed playing this game with us. She would sit down, give orders, watch us play (or cry), and declare a winner. No physical energy was used, it provided relaxation, and the children felt they were being entertained. I can definitely relate!

This game has been a part of my children's lives for 20 years. We have resurrected it as of late, and the children beg to play. We did this for our Family Home Evening activity on Monday night. It was nice and cool outside and the sun was going down - the perfect conditions for Mom to sit on the porch rocker with Dad and for my daughter to play Mother.

If you've never played, here are the rules:

All participants line up horizontally on a designated line.

Ready to play! (Everyone is still happy)

 

 The "Mother" is at a designated finish line. 

"Mother" on the front porch steps - the finish line.

Mother calls a person's name and gives them a command. Before acting, the participant must ask, Mother, May I? before proceeding or they have to go back to the starting line. Mother chooses the next person to go in a designated order. Mother chooses what each person is to do. (This generally depends on the age of the child, how far back a child is, especially if they keep returning to the starting line, how close someone is to the finish line, etc.) The first person to reach "Mother" is the winner.

Commands are a random number followed by an action.

Examples:

Take 3 Giant Steps

Take 5 Frog Leaps

Take 2 Hurdle Jumps

Take 4 Scissor Steps 

Take 10 Baby Steps

Take 6 Crawls

Take 4 Bunny Hops

Take 6 Backward Steps

Take 12 Tiptoe Steps

Take 7 Marching Steps

Take 4 Skipping Steps

Remember, if the child does not say, Mother, May I?, he must go back to the starting line, even if he's  almost to the finish line.

Backwards Steps

Certain children are really good at remembering to say, Mother, May I?. However, other children regularly forget, which many times results in tears. We get ornery statements such as , "She cheated or That's not fair or He took too many steps or you were supposed to stop here." Children end up storming off if they have to go back too many times or cry because they didn't win. 

A sad moment

Happy with himself 'cause he remembered to say, "Mother, May I?"

Enjoying her frog leaping abilities. She is PRO at remembering to say, "Mother, May I?"

Fighting for the finish line...

So, why do we keep playing this game? Sometimes I shake my head and declare to myself, this is the last time we play this game! However, we play because the children beg to,even if they end up crying in the end. When I suggest the game, they jump up and down and eagerly get in line. It's a favorite, that's for sure, but the poor sportsmanship, name calling, or making fun of one another is frustrating. Nevertheless, we continue the tradition (passed on from my Mother) and endure and discourage the negative feelings that often times result. We don't give up on Mother, May I?.

Isn't that the same with parenting? No matter how much we try to discourage it, we consistently deal with frustrations, grumps, sadness, yelling, fighting, bickering, quarreling, name calling, and ridicule. Family life is a blessing and can be a most enjoyable and fulfilling experience. But yet, we are impatient with the ones we love the most or are intolerant with our family's bad habits and annoyances. Yet, we keep working at it. We stay the course. We don't give up.

Mother, May I? is a keeper. It's kind of a microcosm of Earth life. We are given commandments and direction from our parents and the Lord. We have our agency and based on the choices we make we either move forward and progress or fall back. But, we can always begin again, just like repentance. And when we reach the finish line, the joy is sweet, reuniting with those we love. 

Now how do get the children to respond with, "Mother, May I?" when I say: take out the trash, take your pile to your room, take your sister to the bathroom, take your plate to the sink or take your sister to the park? 

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!