Haters Hate

Haters hate. Its what they do. They will actively seek out things to hate. I have been on the receiving end of their venomous words. I have to admit, it is something that I don’t understand, nor do I really want to. 

Several years ago, I posted a video on youtube of the day we found Max in the toilet. Not just playing in the toilet, but fully sitting IN the toilet. 

It was one of those days; A cleaning day, and not just any cleaning, we were DEEP cleaning. It was a summer day that started the way most of our days in recent history had started. I got up, readied myself for the day and proceeded down the hallway to wake the rest of the house. First stop was the littles’ room. (Bailey 5, Abbey 3 and Maximus, AKA “shenanigans”, 18 months) I reached for the doorknob with the words “Rise and Shine” poised on my lips. I turned the knob and attempted to step inside. “Rise and WHACK” The door bounced off of something inside their room and hit me in the head. You see, instead of going to sleep when they were put to bed the night before, they had built a fort right in front of their bedroom door. 

The noise of my forehead colliding with their bedroom door was enough to shake them from their sleep. Satisfied that my job in that room was done, I proceeded down the hallway feeling my head to assess the damage, clumsily putting one foot in front of the other. Before I could get to the next room to continue my mama reveille , I experienced another type of pain, much worse, this time coming from my foot. It was a familiar pain. The pain only a Lego can cause. “Yeeeowww!!!” I’m pretty sure this time all who were once blissfully sleeping, were now wide awake. I didn’t even need to go to anymore bedrooms to wake anyone else. They all appeared in the family room to find me sitting on the couch, nursing my injuries. 

Time for a family meeting. Through gritted teeth, with as much self control as I could muster (because cussing is not allowed) I said “Today we will clean”. That’s it. That’s all I said. 

So, that is the type of “cleaning day” I’m talking about. I got breakfast for the kids and the cleaning began. I was in my big girls room helping them make some headway on a room who’s floor had been missing for several weeks.  I heard someone screaming from the kitchen. “Mom!!! Come quick!!! And you should bring the camera!!” I ran into the kitchen where there were several of the kids pointing into the bathroom. There he was...Shenanigans (Max)... in the toilet. Not just sitting. He was ....playing...in the water. He was thrilled with himself. Obviously, my first reaction (after I recorded the whole thing) was to get him out and give him a bath.  After I got him all cleaned up, I found the person who was supposed to be watching him, reprimanded them and of course...posted the video on Youtube. 

I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever seen and never thought for one minute that it would cause such controversy. The comments started pouring in; About what a terrible mother I was and how this poor little boy was going to be scarred for life and probably would never be potty trained. They scolded me and told me he could have died and kids die in toilets every day and on and on and on. They condemned me as a mother and as a person. Well, I’ve got news for all the haters out there: Max is potty trained and perfectly comfortable in any bathroom near any toilet. And if I am being totally honest, shortly after this incident Max may or may not have taken a nap in the commode. All I know is that when we found him and pulled him out, his diaper had soaked up all of the water in the bowl.... And he was very well rested...

Max got lots of bathes, many times a day due to his other shenanigans. He was a challenge to keep track of.  

My point is this: we should never judge. Thats not our job. Most of the time we have no way of knowing the whole story. And we certainly don’t need to berate people for circumstances beyond their control. I never responded to any of the comments on that video, mainly because I knew that that is what these people were hoping for and I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of a response. I also know that the proof is in the pudding. Max is a very well-adjusted six year old....And he has earned nearly a thousand dollars from that video. 

Click here to view the video


BTW...before i get more haters, the toilet was clean, it had scratches on it....