Order of Operations
1. 2yo Guppy demands something impossible, like mac and cheese that isn’t cooked, or complains when he’s given something he asked for, like milk, since what he really wanted was orange juice.
2. I say no; Guppy begins to scream and tears spurt from his eyes.
3. 4yo Drake covers his ears and yells, “Ow, ow, he’s hurting my ears!”
4. I calmly tell Drake to leave the room. He refuses and begins screaming to drown out Guppy.
5. I lose my mind. Then _I_ leave the room till I can think again.
6. Lather, rinse, repeat.
People tell me that ages 5/7 are when it gets easier. I can but hope.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Oh my - do I remember those days. Even now with my daughters (23, 18 and 11) family “togetherness” can be a bit challenging. My younger two in particular are like oil and water. The nice thing as they get older though is that their custodial needs diminish. So while it’s true that bickering may not entirely vanish, at least you’re not as physically exhausted.
Hmm . . . I just reread my statement and honestly it doesn’t look terribly encouraging. “Just hang in there and the kids will still make you insane, but hey - at least you won’t be as tired.” Not the stuff of which lovely future daydreams are made of, huh? Sorry about that.
It *does* get better. I promise. Most of the time.