I love the house in the morning. Quiet, calm...
J: Mom, can I have breakfast? I'm starving!
Me: No, your body can't be that hungry at 6:57. Let me finish my coffee and then we'll talk.
J: (Slams his fists into the sofa pillow, looks at me with evil in his eyes, and shouts) I should have stayed in bed!
Me: Wow, that was exactly my point. How astute of you!
J: (Looks at me as if I have 2 heads and they're both breathing fire, then stalks out of the room.)
Poor J. His life is miserable, no one understands him, all he feels is pain and hardship... it's like living with a bad country song.
Or a teenager.
If I could convince myself that this was a phase I'd be ok. I'd roll my eyes at Ty and we'd suffer through- ignoring the negative and praising the positive. And it would pass.
But what if this is his personality? Truth is, as much as I love you guys (and myself) there are certain traits that I would prefer my sons not inherit. And while I can handle the tantrums- we've been dealing with them for what? 7 years- I can not stand the martyrdom.
So is this behavior an inate part of him, passed down through the ages? Or can we teach that it's not okay to say martyrish things like, "No Mom," in an Eyorish tone of voice, "E can hit me, I need to get used to it anyway."
Personally, I think there are better ways to get attention. I think he should be taught to speak up for the things that he needs and not manipulate to get them. But a little voice inside my head is telling me that I'm trying to manipulate my son to make him be the way I want him. Do I really know what's best?
Uhhhmmmm....well if it makes you feel any better, YES your children can be "starving" before 7AM. Growth spurt...which is a nice convenient way of saying (in my experience) you need to get creative with the grocery bill and menu planning.
I know mine are always famished, which completely blows the whole "growth spurt" theory out of the water.
And why there's cold cereal... cheap, bottom shelf, generic brand cereal(gag ack ick) to fill the gap before I am awake enough to cook grits, sausage, eggs, pancakes, waffles, etc in a safe and responsible manner (ie not cut some important body part off or burn something in the process)
And yes...you really do know what you are doing.
Because speaking as a reformed childhood drama queen, martyrdom is just one scene of the three acts that is pre/puberty.
And you are smart enough to have figured out that yes, they really are yanking your chain, except on the famished part.
Because they are.
Really.
Lisa said...
7:50 PM
Starving- check
Pissin' and Moanin'- ain't gonna happen.
Got it!
Corrie said...
12:51 AM
My personal experience is that such an intervention is best done on Christmas morning some time around the whiny person's 20th year.
AWWWW...snap.
Anonymous said...
7:18 PM