You probably wake up each morning, get out of bed and proceed with the day as a continuation of your life from all the previous days of your life.

You begin today where you left off yesterday. What happened yesterday and the day before and the month before and the year before continues into today.

And, the rules you lived by yesterday and the day before and the month before and the year before were still in effect when you got up out of bed today.

But, what if you woke up in the morning, got out of bed and proceeded with your day as if it was the first day of your life!

What happened yesterday and the day before and the month before and the year before does not have relevance for today.

The rules you lived by yesterday and the day before and the month before and the year before are not incorporated into today.

Well, that’s that way it is at is at our house. It’s like the kids’ universe starts over each day when they wake up.

Living in our house is like the plot from the movie, Groundhog Day. In the movie a self-absorbed local TV weatherman, Phil Connors played by actor Bill Murray, is annoyed because he’s assigned the job of covering the annual Groundhog Day festivities in the Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. A blizzard that Phil failed to predict suddenly hits town  and Phil and his TV crew are snowed in and must remain overnight in Punxsutawney. When Phil  wakes up the next day, it’s Groundhog Day again.

As Phil awakes each day he relives that same Groundhog Day over and over. As he repeats the events of Groundhog Day again and again he goes through numerous recurrences of bad and good behavior. When he finally comes to the realization that Groundhog Day may be his fate for eternity, Phil strives to behave in a way that will make it the best day of his life.

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in Groundhog Day with my kids.

I have to repeat the rules–every single rule it seems–all over again. Every rule. Every day.

Make your bed. Pick up your room. Put your dirty clothes in the clothes hamper.

Don’t throw trash on the floor. Don’t tease the dog. Don’t tease your brother.

Don’t tell your sister what to do. Don’t tell me what to do!

Why do I have to reiterate the same rules for life all over again each new day?

Go outside and play! Don’t go outside without your shoes on. Wipe your feet off when you come back in the house!

Brush your teeth. Rinse out the sink after you brush!

Close the door when you go to the bathroom. Flush the toilet when you finish. Get another role of toilet paper if you use it all!

Turn out the lights when you leave a room. Turn off the TV when you finish watching it.

Did the universe reboot last night while I was asleep and I didn’t know about it?

Just use a little bit of shampoo. Don’t leave the bar of soap in the bottom of the shower. Don’t leave your wet towel on the floor!

It’s time to get up. It’s time to go to bed.

Don’t eat so fast. Stop messing around. For crying out loud, quit running through the house!

It’s exhausting to have to recall and recite every rule of the universe each and every day of our lives!

For Phil Connors the endless loop of Groundhog Days finally ended when Phil evolved from his former misanthropic self into a genuine humanitarian.

Maybe the universe is trying to teach me something about my misguided parenting techniques and hasn’t yet been able to make the needed transformation.

Because I’m still stuck in Groundhog Day….