Imaginary Boss

My son is all about building forts. He will take every toy out of the closet and restructure each one to serve a different purpose. The board game box becomes a door, the dining room chairs become walls and windows, and Amara’s strollers and blankets become furniture. His fort is filled with every possible toy and gadget. It’s pretty awesome. He made a fort yesterday. When bedtime rolled around, playtime turned into clean-up time. Micaiah suddenly stopped right before returning a dining room chair to the table and exclaimed, “Oh no! My boss is calling!” “Your boss is calling?” I said in my annoyed mom voice. You know the voice. If you’re a mom, you’ve used the voice. If you’re a child, you’ve heard the voice. It’s got a tone of annoyance and curiosity. “Yep, Colton is my boss. He told me I better go upstairs for some important work in our business.” Colton is his friend from church who is also 6-years old. Apparently, he’s calling the shots around my house. Matt and I work from home. Micaiah sees and hears our business calls and comes to our events. As they say, more is caught than taught. Often times, Matt or I will start a project with the kids and get interrupted with a phone call that derails our focus. Good thing about being a mom is that you have the final say. Your powers outweigh the other boss’ powers in your kid’s life. At least, until they’re adults. So, of course, Colton’s “workload” needed to wait until after MY workload was done. This may be humorous because my son is young with a wild imagination. He finds creative ways to get out of things. But, excuses aren’t really funny at all. The more you make them, the less funny they become, even if they’re made by a 6-year-old. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE IMAGINARY BOSSES THAT SUDDENLY SIDESWIPE AND DERAIL YOU FROM YOUR PLAN OF ACTION? I’ll be the first person to raise my hand. I’ll feel inspired to write, then I’ll get a text from a friend and feel obligated to answer them right away. I’ll make a plan of action for the work I need to get done for my business and get distracted by an unshakable need to reorganize my office. I literally did it this week. My office looks amazing but my work piled up. Sometimes I wish I did have an authority outside of myself redirecting me back to what I need to be doing. In some seasons, when I’ve been unable to lead myself, I’ve needed help from a counselor and mentor. But, the truth is, I’m the boss. I get to choose. All those other “bosses” in my life hold no more power than I give them. Next time you catch yourself attempting to bail from your responsibilities to respond to your make-believe boss, STOP AND REMIND YOURSELF YOU HAVE A CHOICE. If you really want to take it up a notch; use your mom voice on yourself in the mirror. That just might do the trick. Written by Tori Hein