We interrupt this travelogue...
To record that MG was a TOTAL PAIN IN THE BUTT all afternoon.
In my mind, Tuesday afternoons--my one afternoon per week home with MG--are lovely soft-focus idylls, full of parent-child bonding, creative play, and enjoyment of nature. But more often than not they're characterized by whining, stalling, and testing, puncutated by screams on MG's part and periodic retreats on mine to avoid screaming back at her because she is driving me around the bend.
I'm off bedtime tonight; I got hardship points for the afternoon, after a quick mimed exchange with RW at dinnertime when MG wasn't looking.
Me: [You? Bedtime? Me--WANT STRANGLE CHILD]
RW: [OK!]
Me: [Fervent thanks!]
Yeah. And I don't even CARE if she reads this in twenty years. Nanny-nanny poo poo!
In my mind, Tuesday afternoons--my one afternoon per week home with MG--are lovely soft-focus idylls, full of parent-child bonding, creative play, and enjoyment of nature. But more often than not they're characterized by whining, stalling, and testing, puncutated by screams on MG's part and periodic retreats on mine to avoid screaming back at her because she is driving me around the bend.
I'm off bedtime tonight; I got hardship points for the afternoon, after a quick mimed exchange with RW at dinnertime when MG wasn't looking.
Me: [You? Bedtime? Me--WANT STRANGLE CHILD]
RW: [OK!]
Me: [Fervent thanks!]
Yeah. And I don't even CARE if she reads this in twenty years. Nanny-nanny poo poo!
posted by elswhere | 7:58 PM
4 Comments:
Hi Elswhere,
OK, here is the big blog world confession -- yesterday I LOCKED MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD OUT OF THE HOUSE. He was screaming on one side of the door "Mama! I love you Mama! Let me in!", I and the baby where crying on the other... it was only 5 minutes but it felt like years. Why, you may ask, did I perform such a heinous bit of mothering badness? What *prompted* such awful behavior? The usual -- whining, not sharing, picking on his little brother, refusing to let his brother have a turn with the little wheelbarrow, not taking his own turn with the little wheelbarrow when the baby brother was tired of it, etc. etc. etc. Same stuff, different day. But yesterday I lost my s*&#t (and how).
We have worked it out. I apologized. He apologized. We told Papa. We told Miss Patsy at my 36 week OB visit (I suppose I could blame some of this on hormones, but I don't like to play that way) and she, bless her, said "Yeah, sometimes Moms do stuff like that." (rather than recoiling in shock and horror as some might have). I have also promised never never never to ever lock him out again and I think that will not be a problem.
So the point -- well, the point is we're all doing the best we can and we still do love our kids, right? How good that RW came home to do the bedtime. Henry, after our "incident", was totally angelic for the rest of the day and evening and it is now hard to believe that any of this happened. Go figure.
xox from West Virginia, and relieved that I am not the only woman who sometimes flips out (or feels like flipping out) with her kids,
aka Marina
nanny nanny poo poo indeed!
Been there, done that. (Well, not locked my kid out of the house, but definitely been in a separate space with a totally falling apart not listening full of emotion child.) In fact, just today, on what should have been a bit of an idyllic hour before dinner, we spent most of it with CG in tears crying for Politica (who was miles and miles away at work).
It is good to share these stories: we're so not alone.
And I'm glad RW got bedtime duty for you.
Well! I've been reading about your travels. Sounds fun! I wish there were flowering tree bars here too. I've got the travel bug so I am jealous! :)
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