n.
A relaxation from a state of readiness or alert.
Have you ever heard that term before? It is a military term, but Jimmy and I use it all the time - very appropriate when parenting multiple children, with multiple issues and multiple commitments.
Alison : Jimmy, I may need to you take Emmalena to practice if Ali is sick tonight.
Jimmy: Okay, let me know.
Later that day...
Alison: Jimmy, stand down, Ali is doing fine - I will take Emmalena.
Alison: If one more kid asks me for something my head may explode. When will you be home?
Jimmy: 6PM
Phone rings later
Jimmy:I am going to be 30 minutes late, but I will hurry.
Alison: Stand down, everyone is behaving. My head is intact.
Another term I have learned from Jimmy is "noted." This is used when someone (usually a superior officer) requests that you do something that you don't really want to do, or when they comment on something you have said or done, and not in a positive way. While you may not have to do what they asked of you, you are not in a position to share your true opinion on the request or comment, which is always contrary to theirs, so you just say "noted."
In our house, "noted" has turned into "I heard what you said, don't care, but don't want to start and argument so I will acknowledge that you have made a request or spoke your opinion on something and that's about it."
Jimmy: Would it be possible for you to get the piles cleared off the kitchen counter today?
Alison: Noted.
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Alison: Do you think it would be possible for you to brush your teeth without running the water, wasting one of our most precious natural resources and passing your bad habit on to our children?
Jimmy: Noted.
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Jimmy: (After 8 boxes have fallen on him from the garage shelving) Do we really have to have all of these boxes?
Alison: Noted
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Alison: Is there a reason recycling is so painful for you?
Jimmy: Noted.
Will I ever tame my kitchen piles or my need for boxes? Will Jimmy ever embrace recycling and quit being a water waster? I don't know. But, after 17+ years of being together, we have developed quite the system for dealing with our issues!
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