"They're invisible" he said looking at me with wide eyes. "And..." <dramatic pause> "... they are always in your pocket, so you can pull them out when ever you need them!"
"Ok" I said, then asked curiously "So what are these tools?"
"One is called "stick-ability" and you use that one if you are finding something hard and you just want to give up.You pull it out and stick-ability helps you keep on going"
"That's a good one" I said."What else you got?" Hoping there was an anti-wrinkle cream that actually worked in there
"There's "distraction action" I use this one a lot. If something's distracting me, like a noise or a person, then I pull it out and it helps me ignore them."
"Cool! I need that sometimes" I said thinking about time spent on twitter opposed to time spent writing " Can I borrow it?"
"No!" He replied flatly "You need to get your own tools. These are mine."
I was tempted to reply... Well buster, I'm one step ahead of you. I've been carrying around my own pack of invisible tools since the day you were born.
But I didn't, instead I decided I would write a blog post about them. Hoping you would appreciate hearing about them...
Some of my invisible tools that get me through the week...
False SmileOk. We all have this one. Remember the false laugh we learnt as pre-schoolers to appease adults who don't know how to communicate with children? You don't know what i am talking about? Introduce you child to Uncle Knobhead and see what they do... A false laugh right?
Well, the false smile is how that little, wary false laugh has evolved. And when you become a parent the false smile is perfected. It is used for nearly every other parent (apart from the select few which you LOVE obvs) you see on the school run, in the supermarket and wherever else they may pop up, as they are everywhere right? It is used for every child that isn't your own that talks to you, asks you a questions or requires your attention in some way. It used for everyone over the age of 60 who comments on your child's size, attire or behaviour. And when you are a broken human being, after clawing an ounce of sleep from the depths of desperation, that false smile is was saves you from being arrested for punching a pensioner in the nose!
Tongue clipperI put this effective little clip on my tongue every time I go to playgroup. It stops me saying stuff like...
"You are full of bullshit"
"Your child's behaviour is horrendous"
"Please don't speak to me like that"
"I really don't give a shit!"
"I know you love your child desperately, but we don't"
"Does your voice always do that singsong thing or do you save it for when you are talking to me?"
"The Big Hummm"This is really useful to bring out every time anyone wants to give you some advice. It works with all ages; if they are 70, 7 or 37, it is still very effective. All you have to do is let them speak and listen. Then pause. Now, just when it's quiet, throw a big "hummmmm" into the air, Then pause again. They will think you are considering it deeply, when really you are thinking: "I will never ever do what you just said"
"It's OK (not really) face."When you say it's Ok, but your face is telling a very different story. Letting someone know, it is OK, but if it EVER happens again it won't be.
Very handy to have with you at all times.
Instances I have found it worthy of being used:
- When you pick your child up from nursery and they have been allowed to glue their hat to their head
- When your child breaks something VERY important, Like your phone, laptop, brother's favourite toy.
- When your child accidentally spills a drink down you
- When your own child spews up down your back
- When someone mistakes you for being pregnant and you are FUCKING not! Actually, that's never ok.
- When a stranger gets your child's gender wrong.
- When an acquaintance calls your child Johnny. It's Jonty!
- When you arrive to collect your child from somewhere and send out the wrong one!
So Mums, mums to be, Dads and the rest of the human race, share your secrets -what invisible tools do you carry around you?