About The Orange Rhino

It all started Friday, January 20, 2012. After our handyman busted me yelling at my 4 boys, I had an epiphany; I yell at my kids much more than I like. The next day I committed to going 365 days without yelling.  And to boot, I decided to keep  a public blog to help keep me on task. A few days later, my 5 year old was yelling at me for something I did wrong, again. I calmly said, “Now, if mommy can’t yell what does that mean for you?” Finger in nose, he looked me right in the eyes and replied: “I can’t yell…but I can still pick my nose!”

Awesome. Purely awesome.  My son’s response was honest and witty, exactly the tone I hope to embrace in this blog. It was the perfect byline I had been searching for all week.  With the by-line done, the rest fell right into place. I have decided, at least for now, to be anonymous to protect my children’s privacy. So I needed a moniker. I typed “nose” into Google and “Rhino” popped up as the Greek meaning. I could be a Rhino. Rhinos are strong and cool, right? This was promising. Further research about Rhinos confirmed that I was already, indeed, a Rhino.

Rhinos are tenacious and vigorous animals who are naturally peaceful, but display aggressive behavior when provoked.

Wow. That’s me alright, minus the vigorous piece. I definitely don’t have the mental strength or energy. If I did, I wouldn’t let myself charge with my “words” so frequently!  I am totally a Rhino. But I don’t want to be aggressive; I want to lose that and gain the vigorous part. I need more warmth and energy. Clearly, I need a little more of the color Orange in my life especially since it also conjures up feelings of determination which I am most definitely going to need more of in order to conquer this challenge.

So there you have it. I want to be The Orange Rhino.

I want to be a mom who has the energy and determination to forge ahead and parent with more composure and warmth and without the yelling!