The Good, the Bad, and the Ridiculous

This morning was a pretty good one for Boo and I. The first day in a long while that we didn't have to wake up by a certain time to get going somewhere. We stayed in our pajamas till 10am. We were low key and fun. I hated having to take him to Mammo's house. He transitioned well and had a great day with his Mammo. They even went to McDonald's for a dinner of "chicken and fries." On the way home he requested to stop and visit one of his great grandmas. They had a pleasant visit and he enjoyed playing with her little dog.

Meanwhile, back at the convenience store, I was having a day from......well, a bad day. We were insanely busy and I had an encounter with a customer who was screaming like a lunatic and cussing me out all because her husband couldn't figure out how to operate a gas pump. It was all I could do to keep my cool. All night I just wanted to get home to my sweet Boo. It was a terrible work day.

Finally 10 o'clock arrived and so did the third shift replacement. I made a hasty exit and headed home. I found my Boo playing and laughing and having fun. Mom gave me the day's report and said her goodbyes. Shortly thereafter my sweet little man melted down into a screaming crying wailing kicking sobbing fit throwing mass of sadness. It all started when he asked to play PBS Kids on the computer and I told him that it was too late. Then he wanted to watch a movie and got the same response. He just could not let go of the idea. He tried every trick in the book. Begging, pleading, crying, bargaining, and all the rest. I tried to move on to putting on pajamas and met even more resistance. He entered full on tantrum mode. He refused to wear pajamas, and threw a gigantic fit. It was all I could do not to react in kind. My reaction was to yell, punish, threaten. But I know well from much experience that those things only serve to ratchet up the intensity of a fit in progress. Only calm and composure together with time can quiet the storm. Several time outs later we finally managed to get his pajamas on and he aquiesced to the idea of going to bed. But he insisted on sleeping in "the big bed." (in other words, Mommy's bed) This is not a habit I wish to start. Instead of the sweet cuddle time we usually share at night, this was a tense and unhappy bedtime with an unhappy boy. Once he settled I told him "I love you" and he replied "no you don't."

He is finally sound asleep and I will be soon too. Some days it just doesn't pay to leave the house.