40 Days of Less Yelling…Can You Do It?

So, today is the first day of Lent. If you’re Catholic, like me, that means you usually have to give something up for the 40 days leading up to Easter. When I was little and even as a younger adult, I would rack my brain trying to thing of the one thing I loved the most that would torture me to give up. In years past that meant chocolate (several times), cookies, sweets in general, and even gossiping…I know, the humanity! Other years I pretended Lent didn’t even exist, so I didn’t give up anything at all.

I can’t say I stayed on the wagon for all those endeavors. I snuck a Reese Peanut Butter Cup or two…or three. I snatched a few cookies here or there or everywhere. Of course, someone annoyed me enough that I had to start talking smack. Needless to say, I was anything but successful with the whole “give up something and stick to it” for Lent thing.

So, now I’m a mom and I’m supposed to know what I’m doing to set a good example. But,  I once again had trouble trying to think what I could give up for Lent. My daughter came home from CCD last week and told me she learned all about Lent. It was interesting that she told me she was going to do something nice. She never once mentioned giving something up. Her “do something nice” was to be nice to her sister. Hopefully she’s more successful with her mission than I have been with mine.

That got me to thinking. What could I do for Lent that would be difficult for me and benefit others at the same time? As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew what it was already. I could yell less. I know I said this was part of my New Year’s resolution. Honestly, it hasn’t been working out so well. Time to hit the restart button and have a do-over.

Yelling less doesn’t mean my girls won’t get reprimanded if they do something wrong. It means I won’t feel as though I’m going to have an aneurysm when I do get mad at them. It means I won’t look like one of the characters from “Where the Wild Things Are” when I let them know they are doing something wrong. It means giving myself an interior “time-out” if you will. It’s probably a win-win all around.

As much as I may not want to admit it, yelling really doesn’t solve any problems. My kids may stop doing whatever annoying activity… for awhile. They may clean up a mess…only to mess up the same spot again five minutes later. They may decide to stop screaming like animals…for a few minutes.

In the end, I’m still annoyed.

So, let’s try this yelling less thing for 40 days. Can I do it? Hopefully! Can you?

6 Comments 40 Days of Less Yelling…Can You Do It?

  1. Jamie @ Medium Sized Family

    As I’ve grown, I’ve tried to make an effort to give up or add in something that is more about having a better relationship with God than just giving up something to torture myself. My goal for Lent is very similar to yours! Praying both of us do well with it!

    Reply
  2. Maria

    That’s a really good way to look at Lent, Kristina. Instead of giving something up for 40 days, do something challenging that could benefit someone else–it’s perfect! I should take it upon myself to do the same for lent. I’ve gotten better at patience, but yelling is still something I need to work on. So I think I’ll join you for 40 days. Here’s to less yelling and more patience 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this on #SHINEbloghop this week. Glad you were able to join us!

    Reply
  3. Jenny @ Unremarkable Files

    That is so true! Yelling doesn’t solve the problem – it usually just makes me madder and makes the kids listen LESS (if that’s possible.)

    I really like that you said 40 days of less yelling instead of 40 days of no yelling. Realistic goals here. Best of luck to you!
    #SHINEbloghop

    Reply

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