Bad Parent Moment

Darren and I had a less than stellar parent moment Friday night. We were both stressed; we planned to go to Lafayette for the weekend for Festival International, and Darren didn't make it home from work until 7:30. So, we didn't begin our four-hour drive until 8:30. We were all hungry and tired, but looking forward to the festival.

Zach chose to wear his new flip flops for the trip, and I had set out his tennis shoes to be packed in the suitcase. I gave Zoe a bottle right before we left the house, and both the kids fell asleep. I took a nap with my head resting on the armrest between the front seats. Friday nights are brutal on all of us.

We stopped to get gas somewhere between Lake Charles and Lafayette, and when Darren got out of the car, Zoe started crying. Zachary is not the nicest when he is woken up, and he began shushing Zoe. I took him out and he and I went to the restroom. When we got back in the car, he began shushing Zoe again, and both Darren and I corrected him for it. Darren looked through the window, and Zachary was in Zoe's face, ordering her to be quiet. Darren opened Zach's door and gave him a couple of swats on the leg. That didn't stop him; when I corrected him, he retorted with, "That goes for you, too, Mom!" I then got out of the car and spanked him.

Zoe quieted down, Darren came back in the car, and we headed to Lafayette. Saturday morning, Zachary wanted to go outside with my dad to see the garden, but could only find one flip flop. We discovered that Darren hadn't packed his tennis shoes, and also realized that one of Zach's flip flops must have fallen out of the car when we opened his car door to spank him. So, my dad took him to Target and bought him two new pairs of shoes. I'll have to replace those flip flops; Darren and I both feel bad about it.