SEVENTY-SEVEN…is having spirit the same thing as being stubborn??
ceciliaandhersisters
Last Sunday we took the kids downtown after dinner for a little ice cream treat and a nice evening walk around our little quaint beachy village. It was a nice way to end the weekend. It is always an EVENT to take everyone out in public…especially since we have one who most definitely WILL NOT listen, no matter how we
plead…
strong-arm…
negotiate…
or cajole…depending on how you look at the situation
or try reverse psychology with our, “ok, bye-bye Phoebe…see ya later!’
It never works.
This child marches to the beat of her own two-year old drum
one thing is for sure, she loves her big sister.
That’s besides the point though…
Half the battle of getting out of the house is picking out an outfit for Phoebe that doesn’t send her into a fit of hysterics. Seriously. It takes 45 minutes of persuading her to just put on the pair of pants because her pink dresses are dirty. And believe me, we are using time-outs, and sometimes we eventually pull her limp body through the head, armhole and leg openings cause there are no other choices…and we are tired and just want to get out of the house at a reasonable time.Sometimes I catch myself saying things like, “she just needs to get a little bit older” or “I can’t wait for the day when she actually listens to me” or “will she ever get to the point where she will want to help me?”. Frustration gets the better of me sometimes and consequently makes me wish my children’s ‘childhood’ away.
She is a typical 2 year old…stubborn, working on asserting her independence, testing boundaries/limitations, and voicing her opinions…and expecting those opinions to be recognized, heard and respected.
I am having one of those months with my middle child…where we seem to be butting heads more often than not. I went on a walk with her today and intended for the walk to be on Phoebe’s terms…and for the first 45 minutes, we poked around, smelled flowers, jumped on tree berries on the side-walk and I felt like we were bonding. Then I heard thunder. Everything up to that point was wonderful, and then the thunder just made everything turn to crap. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say power struggles when impending rain, thunder and lightening are right around the corner can really muck up mommy/daughter bonding plans!!!
I don’t want to wish away her childhood…
but I eagerly await the day I can ask her a simple yes or no question, ask her to put her clothes/shoes on and she listens and responds.
