Sometimes you do things you never thought you would. Because you get desperate and tired. For example, I never thought we would own a minivan. But, as it turns out, a minivan is really is the best car for our family right now. It makes sense to have good tools to do your job and a minivan is a good tool for the job of being a mom to three growing boys.
My dinner bell is another tool.
Robert said last night that it was "the best ten dollars we ever spent." It's loud and clang-y and probably drives the neighbors nuts. But you know what? Like perfect little Pavlovian dogs, my boys come running when they hear this bell. It probably helps that I don't abuse it. But when dinner is on the table and I don't have time to personally walk around the neighborhood, checking at all the possible houses, then the duck pond, the playground and the forest, while the dinner goes into an ice age on the table, I ring the bell.
I ring that bell as hard as I can out the front door, then walk to the back door and do it again. When I first started using the bell, I felt a little stupid. Maybe a little obnoxious and inconsiderate. But now I don't care what the neighbors think. I get the results I want and it helps me do my mom-job more efficiently.
Is it better than yelling from the front porch?
Absolutely. I could never yell that loud.
3 comments:
love it & have wanted to get one for our home!
I haven't even heard yours! I need one of those too but I'll have to make sure it's a different pitch.
I have always wanted one of those since the time my family stayed on dude ranches. That was what they used to call us in from the fields, and like Pavlovian dogs, we too happily came running. Of course we never got wonderful jello, but we did get milk straight from the cow we milked ourselves!
Post a Comment