Dalai Lama or Drama Llama?

The first time my kiddos came home singing a song about a drama llama I thought they said Dalai Lama and I was impressed with how enlightened they were for being in early elementary school.

Turns out, they had no idea who the Dalai Lama is and they really weren't sure what a drama llama was either - but they know it rhymes with mama llama. I took the opportunity as a teaching moment and gave them a quick lecture about how the Dalai Lama stands for tolerance and peace and a drama llama makes a big deal out of small things. As women, we have opportunities every day. Opportunities in real life, on social media, in our writing, and in our self talk. Opportunities to be more drama llama or be more Dalai Lama.

With the holidays upon us as well as the post-election tension, I find myself in need of more Dalai Lama in my self talk as well as in real life. I did some role playing with my kiddos and then with my hubby (examples below), but most important I wanted to ask what situations you've come across where you have been too Drama Llama and not enough Dalai Lama. Be sure to share some ideas and examples on this post and thanks as always for reading!

Grandma: "oh, your cousin will be at Thanksgiving with her new girlfriend. Did you hear she's dating a girl now?"

Dalai Lama: "That's wonderful that they can make it; I can't wait to see her and meet her friend."


Woman at the grocery store: "Can you believe how long it's taking them to pave this parking lot?"

Dalai Lama: "I thought it was going quickly considering how large the space is and how much traffic there is all day long."


Writer Mama Friend: "I can't believe she self published; don't you think she took the easy way out?"

Dalai Lama: "I'm glad she got her story out there; how do I go about getting a copy?"


The children asked why we need to role play and the truth is, it's because I think of the right thing to say long after I've said the wrong thing. Tell me I'm not alone in this? Someone says something and I'm not quite sure what to say so I say the wrong thing or I stand there with a totally awful look on my face like I'm about to be struck down by a unicorn driving a school bus. I have to rehearse my come backs in advance...especially if I am to be tolerant and peaceful.

Not quite sure what I'm talking about? Thinking "oh Crystal, what could you have said that was so bad?"...let me tell you the worst. I was at a job interview to work with adults with special needs. I was VERY young and had never been interviewed by 8 people at once. I was a wreck (definitely NOT peaceful) and sweating profusely. The Interviewer asked: "tell me Crystal, what type of person do you think you'd have a hard time working with?"

I cannot even recall what was said, but I think I left sobbing because I had completely flubbed everything.

As you know, I didn't get the job. In fact, I'm fairly certain they shredded my resume. I don't even know what I was trying to say, but the garbage that I was saying had me feeling like a head spinning episode of Ally McBeal. Shortly after that interview I decided to either be prepared to say the right thing or say nothing at all. I wish I was more Dalai Lama all the time, but I'm not...sometimes I slip and I'm more Drama Llama.

What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever said? How did you recover?

Do you have a unique saying at your house to remind your family of how to do something better? (My mom always said "do it right the first time so you don't have to do it again" and of course, I'll ask my kiddos if they're being a drama llama or a Dalai Lama).

Please share your thoughts!! 

Here's the song the kiddos came home singing - enjoy! (but somehow my kids incorporated Barack Obama in the song too...hmmm)

Crystal is a church musician, babywearing mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, Press Corp teammate for the DairyGirl Network, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin with her husband, four young children (Carmen 9, Andre 8, Breccan 3, and Delphine 1), two dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff at:http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/
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5 comments avoiding drama, being positive, dalai lama, drama llama, peacemaker, positive response, self talk, staying happy, staying positive, tactful