When a Screenful of Peanut Butter Deserves a Good Lickin’
Why You Need to Pay Attention
You’ve all seen it. Those advertisements on television that promote the finger lickin’ peanut butters. But sometimes a screenful of peanut butter is just evidence of a need for a good lickin’.
Like the day I was babysitting my six-year-old granddaughter.
It was just an ordinary day. Nothing unusual. For it was the early days of my bout with arthritis. And I could walk. But I couldn’t run.
So, I had a difficult time keeping up with my granddaughter.
She was a handful. Always climbing up on the cupboards. Getting into the snacks.
Just a Spoonful …
On this particular day, she got out the peanut butter. And I knew she was hungry. So, I let her eat it from the jar. She got a spoon and took it to the bedroom, while I stayed in the living room.
She was quiet. So, I didn’t worry.
That was my second big big mistake!
The first one was my not paying attention.
So, when I finally did go to check on her, I was shocked.
For she had smeared peanut butter on the bedroom television screen. It was totally covered with peanut butter.
Oh, no! I thought. Her dad is going to have a fit.
In Need of a Good Lickin’
I could just see him. Mad as heck … at me! Mad at me for not paying attention to what his daughter was doing. Mad at me for not doing my job. Mad at me for being incompetent.
And I deserved it, I thought. I deserved a good scolding. I deserved a good lickin’.
I wiped the television down, cleaned it off the best I could. And I dreaded the moment when my son came home.
The rest of the day was spent with me worrying. With me feeling anxious and upset.
When my son finally came home, and asked me how my day went, I told him about the finger-lickin’ screen of peanut butter. He didn’t get mad. He just said, “you have to be more careful about how you wipe off the television screen.”
The moral of the story really is your need to pay more attention to your children and grandchildren during those tempting finger-lickin’ moments on the television screen.