Dysfunctional Family BINGO

I was reading a great article about how to survive the craziest of your family members at the next family gathering. It involves creating a game, which I’ll explain in detail in a moment. But as I read it, it almost instantly occured to me that, with a minor alteration, this could be an AMAZING game for helping the easily overwhelmed child to not only cope, but have fun at the frenzied family event to come. Here’s the initial version of the game.

You create a couple of BINGO cards with items that are likely to occur at your event–things like Aunt Tilly will complain that the stuffing is too dry, Crystal will show off her naval piercing, and

Advertisement

Hold That Thought. . .If You Can

Sizzlers often miss what’s going on around them. This can be a problem in many ways. Read this mom’s letter to learn about one of them.

I have a sizzler who is a great talker. The challenge is creating boundaries.  For instance if I need to change little sister’s diaper and little sister is busy playing catch me if you can, it may not be the best moment to ask to play a video game or tell me about a favorite event from 2 weeks ago. Is it even worth trying to set that boundary?  Or is it a futile cause in your opinion/experience?

Thanks for your wisdom!

                                                                                         ~Sara

Dear Sara,

What pleases me most is that you’ve assumed I had wisdom. A thousand blessings on your day.

I have experience. I have headaches. And I even have Sizzler stories I can now laugh about that typically involve some mix of fluids like motor oil and peanut butter. Whether or not I have wisdom has never satisfactorily been determined. The jury is still out. And there are days, my children will tell you, that the jury is not even out. In fact, they’re are IN, have pitched a tent and ordered Chinese for dinner.

Nonetheless, I will provide an answer based on

Finding a Social Group for Sizzlers

The kids were all playing nicely on the grassy area of the State Park. <cue carefree happy summertime music. Release romping puppy. > But oh, wait. Who’s that eager young man leading a small pack of wild-eyed young children across the rocks that traverse the rapidly moving stream?

Ah. . .that would be my son, the Sizzler.

Elsewhere, children were happily engaged in a friendly game of tag at the group family camp out <cue soundtrack of squealing, playful-but-still-safe children making laughing sounds>. But oh, wait. Whose feet are those dangling from the bottom of the chimney indicating that someone had left the playful group and was now stuck in that giant unused (we hope) outdoor Barbeque?

Ah. . .that would be another Sizzler. (It took about an hour to get him out. No kidding. We were minutes away from calling the fire department.)

And what did all the other parents have to say. . .

You Are Not a Fish

My young daughter was bolting in my direction. I could tell, even from 15 feet away, that she was very agitated. She clearly had something on her mind and it was equally clear that I was gonna to hear about it. She stopped abruptly in front of me and began her angry download.

“That boy is such a jerk. We were playing chess and he was making up rules and telling me I was wrong and saying all kinds of stupid things. I’d move my piece and he’d say it was a dumb move and that I didn’t know how to play and then he’d just knock a piece over and say he won. He was just so STUPID! He didn’t know ANY of the rules of chess. He just acted like he did. It made me so mad!”

She was a whirling swirling cloud of angry.  And while her frustration was reasonable, her level of anger was not. I knew she could stew (and spew) for a very long time if I didn’t help her calm down and find her center again. So, summoning my small reserve of Yoda-like wisdom. . .

What Weird Holiday Story Do YOU have?

Life with Sizzlers is just plain different. There’s no use denying it. They stand out, sometimes in ways we wish they didn’t. But more often in ways we love, even if others don’t always understand. When my kids were younger, it got to the point that I stopped sharing stories with people on the playground. I really felt bad for these other parents. They were trying so hard. They would tell their funniest children’s tale. Others around them would softly chuckle. And I would just nod and smile, knowing full and well that my Sizzler stories would top theirs in a heartbeat–either making them gasp or snort soda out their noses. Their kids did something mildly shocking about twice a year. I could usually pull something out of that day’s events.  Their children often said bemusing and sweet, even poignant things. My children’s activities often involving large machinery, ordinary dental floss and a wonderful exhibition of the laws of physics at work.

Many of you have been writing in saying, “Please-oh-please, create a place for us to share our fun holiday stories.” Not only do you. . .