Let’s All Whine Together!
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
My daughter loves to whine. When she does so she accompanies it with jerky body movements that some might think could be a new dance.
One shoulder slumps down, the other back, while her arms flail in front of her. This is accompanied by a chorus of, “I don’t want to. No. I don’t want to. No. I don’t want to. N-o-o-o-!”
Can you feel the beat? The girls got rhythm. And something else – an ability to drive me insane.
When my 8-year old is rockin’ out to her whines and throwing her body in all directions, it causes me to do the same only in an adult manner
“STOP. NOW. I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE WHINING.”
“I’m not whining,” she whines back.
“You ARE whining.”
“I’m NOT whining.”
The last two lines are said practically in tandem. Perhaps it is the combined decimal levels but something shattered the here and now and transported me to the there and then.
I was back in my Connecticut childhood home. My mother told me not to do something. Pissed, I stormed up the stairs and slammed the door to my room.
My mother yelled in her thick, Brooklyn accent, “Don’t slam the door.”
“I’m NOT slamming the door,” I screamed while slamming it.
“NO slamming.”
“I’m NOT slamming.” Slam.
This was how I dealt with my frustration and anger, much as my daughter whines and gets all jiggly on me, with hers.
I shared this with Mimi. As I told her about myself as a child, behind her eyes I could see she understood the connection.
She wanted to know one more thing – did I swear at my mother?
Swear? At my mother? What!?!?
“I won’t say the words, Mommy. But was it the S word or maybe the F word?” Her eyes enlarged in anticipation.
I think I liked it better when she whined.
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Dawn Yun is the mother of The Writing Mamas, which was born in 2004 at the famed bookstore Book Passage in Corte Madera, Calif. Dawn wrote the best-selling guide, "The Joy of Outlet Shopping," was a writer on the book, "Never Pay Retail" and authored the book, "Calming Crafts: New Crafts to Inspire Your Creativity." She blogs for the San Francisco Chronicle's http://www.sfgate.com, under City Brights. She has written for "Family Fun," "USA Today," "USA Weekend," "the San Francisco Chronicle," "Wine-X," "Manhattan, Inc.," "BabyCenter" and other off-line and on-line publications. She has appeared on "Oprah," "Good Morning America," "CBS This Morning," "Lifetime," "Discovery," and "Fox News."
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Do I know that whining dance? All too well, I’m afraid. Very funny post.
Excellent post. I do hope she overcomes that whining thing.
If you come up with a cure for whining and whinging, please announce it universally. I have found that whining begets whining and nobody wins. Least of all me, last seen hiding under the bed, hands over ears, singing La La La.
Acceptance can help us get over “whine flu’. Acceptance of the fact that we can’t have it all.
That’s my Mimi! Just like her Aunt Cally, a whiner from way back. Hey, what can I say…. It works. Especially with big brothers.
You go girl. Whine and dine. Childhood is but a moment.
That’s my baby girl with the attitude! Sorry Dawnie – Mimi wins.