Life's Mishaps Pop quiz time:
1. When your dog decides to eat/kill your plant starts you've been coaxing to grow for a month, how do you react?A. Laugh and say "Oh well, we'll start again! Silly dog, don't eat the plants!" Then play catch with the dog and decide to buy some of that spray that makes dogs avoid certain plants.
B. Calmly tell the dog, "No, that's a leave-it. Leave it." Then proceed to distract the dog with a ball for catch while salvaging the plants that look like they'll live.
C. Yell at the dog at the top of your lungs, scream for it to go to its kennel, while yelling "Bad dog!" and then storm back outside to clean up but instead put your hand thru the storm door window. Start bleeding and screaming for DH to rescue you.
D. Tell the dog "bad dog, kennel up" and put him in his kennel. Locate someone else who should have been distracting the dog from eating your plants and blame them for everything. Force them to clean it all up while you sulk.
2. When your DH is making pizza for dinner, and spills some on the oven, he decides to burn it off by turning the oven up to 500. The entire house fills with smoke. How do you react?A. Laugh and say "Look kids, we have indoor fog!" Then vent the windows and show DH where the oven cleaner is for next time.
B. Calmly turn off the oven, vent the windows, get the oven cleaner out and ready for when it cools down some and thank DH for making the yummy pizza, but tell him you'll do the clean-up.
C. Irritably ask DH what he did and ask in a grumpy voice"Why didn't you just use the oven cleaner?" Tell him you don't like the windows open at night and grumpily proceed to start cleaning up "his" mess. Make him help though.
D. Tell DH he should have been more careful and he can't cook in YOUR kitchen if he's going to make such a mess. He really should be more responsible. Verbally berate him for at least 5 minutes about his error and tell him to clean it up.
3. You are going to a museum as a family outing. When you get there it is insanely crazy full of people. Your young son has a habit of running off to see what he wants to see, leaving you behind. When you catch up to him for the 20th time, after dodging thru the crowds, what do you do?A. Smile and ask him if he's playing hide and seek with you. Ask him nicely (again!) to tell you where he wants to go before running away. Remind him that we need to take turns choosing what to look at and stay together.
B. Calmly hug him and tell him in your soft and calm voice how worried you were because you couldn't see him in the crowd. Explain that we need to stay together for safety reasons and we will see everything he wants before we leave.
C. Grab his arm, pull him to you and yell in your best restrained 'We're in public voice' about the dangers of running off in crowds. Tell him he has to hold your hand the rest of the time.
D. In your short irritated voice, say "You have to stay with me and not run away or we're leaving." Follow thru and take everyone home the next time he even runs a few feet in front of you.
4. It is a beautiful perfect weather day and would be great weather for playing outside. But some cleaning in the house needs to happen first. You wonderful children have settled in to the computer play time/TV watching and don't want to help clean or play outside right now. How do you react?A. Put on Pandora.com radio with your favorite inspiring music, dance as you do the cleaning and practice thinking loving thoughts of how you are blessing your family by keeping it clean and inviting. Then tell them you are going to be outside and go play in the garden. Break out the blower/lawn mower to see if it attracts them.
B. Sit down and do your spiritual rejuvenation first, knowing you are going to need it to keep your patience and happiness up today. Then decide to alternate inside chores with outside fun and work. Offer for the kids to help each time you start something new, possibly eventually finding something that interests them more than the electronics.
C. Demand that they help by cleaning their room. Turn off the TV even though there are only 5 more minutes left in their show and tell them they have to help NOW. Grumble and clean and tell them it is their job to help. Then force them to play outside with you.
D. Blame them for the mess and tell them you don't like cleaning up after them. Supervise while they clean. Then tell them it is time for outdoor play. Make them play outside with you.
I hope you've enjoyed today's quiz! Time to tally your answers.
If you answered all or mostly all A's: You like to laugh in life and find the funny side to things. There isn't any situation where a little humor won't help. Love for your family, pets and friends is evident by your gentle teasing that is never sharp or pointed. You take responsibility for your own choices and mistakes and let other's do the same.
If you answered all or mostly all B's: You are calm, centered and gentle in your approach to life's mishaps. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want, but you know how to accept that. You are helpful and unconditionally loving to all. You let people make their own choices but try to be a guide by providing a great example and gently explaining why some things are better choices than others.
If you answered all or mostly all C's: You tend to overreact and lose your temper when things don't go your way (usually exacerbating the situation). If you can, you force things to go your way, since you are always or almost always right. "My way or the highway" makes sense to you as a philosophy. People in your family are slightly afraid of you, never knowing when you are going to "lose it". That's alright though, because in your view, if they do what you want, you have their respect (even if it's fear based.)
If you answered all or mostly all D's: It's usually someone else's fault that things don't go perfectly in life and you can usually pinpoint the person who was the problem and you will tell them about it! "The blame game" is one you play on a regular basis. You use threats and withholding to get the behavior you want from people. You don't yell that much, but you know what to say to hurt a person and keep tally of the wrongs people have committed against you for use later.
(The previous quiz was inspired partially by the cheesy magazine quizzes. It may have also been inspired by events in the writer's life. The actual events as they took place may or may not be represented above. This quiz is for amusement purposes only and is not scientific in nature.)
