I understand why...

When you're young, you don't really question much, you just accept it. You think the way your parents did things was just the way things were done, and weren't at all strange. Then you get older, and you see, yes, maybe they did some weird things. Then you have a kid of your own, and you think, they were nuts, but now I understand!

For instance, I now understand why:
~ My mom counted down the minutes to bedtime.
~ My dad didn't want to be bombarded the second he walked in the door from a 12 hour day.
~ Little white lies (i.e. Did you know Boise is the flashlight capital of the world?!) are necessary to keep children at bay.
~ Being able to pee by yourself is a luxury.
~ Why sometimes, you just want to SIT in the dark.
~ A simple threat (I'm going to send you to China if you don't behave)actually sounds reasonable when nothing else will work.
~ The "shock factor" of splashing a cup of cold water on some one's face will bring them back to reality really quick!
~ If your kid is crying and throwing a tantrum, and you do it right back, they become suddenly dumbfounded and knock it off once they realize how you are acting.
~ Sometimes, you just need a drink.
~ You just have to laugh when you find a Cheerio stuck to your butt.
~ You must have a bedtime routine, no matter how crazy. Ours was the "train" down the stairs and the stops were our bedrooms. It was always a fight over who got to be the caboose!
~ You are excited for any amount of time to yourself, even if it is just sitting in your car outside.
~ Deep breath breaks are totally necessary.
~ Leaving your kid in the cart in the middle of the aisle and walking away during a fit seems like an appropriate action to take at the time.
~ Giving a kid a duster and a rag is not only fun for them, it's useful to you!
~ If you don't feel like doing an asinine chore, you pass it off to the kid and make it sound like SO MUCH fun and that you're actually jealous they are doing it instead of you.
~ You really do look forward to laundry day, and especially clean sheets.
~ There is always a need for a "plastic" drawer in the kitchen.
~ Toys with small or multiple parts are the bane of your existence.
~ Going out to dinner (no matter where) is such a nice treat because YOU don't have to clean up (although, coincidentally, you feel guilty for the mess your child has left behind).

I know there are so many more, but for now, I will end the list here.

Think about what nuts your parents were (and still are most likely) and think about how you are turning into them. SCARY thought, right?