Out of Gas…Again
Oh my, no more dirty car this year! That was what I thought when I decided to declare a resolution this year. Here is a status update:
This is what my car looks like three months in to 2014. It is worse! Now I resolve to never making any more New Year’s Resolutions.
Out of Gas… (Original post from December 2013)
I know this is the time of the year to reevaluate your life, nit pick your misgivings and come up with a resolution that will change your life for the better. Whatever! I have never been a big fan of New Year Resolutions; I usually try to just keep my expectations fairly low, it seems to work for me, but my five year-old was able to glaringly point out where I need to improve.
My car stinks! And that was exactly what I said to Azul this afternoon. To be fair, I have always had a dirty car, even before Azul, but no doubt the trash has grown exponentially since his birth.
I am a true Virgo and have a deep-seated need to straighten things out — things don’t need to be super clean, just in order. My car is the exception, the one place I can let loose. So, I told my five year-old, “My car stinks!” And he replied, “Maybe it cuz I tooted in there!” In a state of amazement I then said, “You tooted in my car?” Without a second thought he said, “Yes.” I am not sure why I continued the conversation at this point, and come to think of it, I’m not sure why I do half the things I do now as a parent, but I said, “I didn’t hear it.” Immediately his response was, “Toots are quiet.” I put my head in my hands, shaking left to right, thinking, Oh my, no more dirty car this year!
Like Comparing Melons to Oranges
I spend a lot of time with my five year-old son and as a result, I feel we are kind of in sync with each other. It’s something that happens in all relationships, the more time you spend with someone the more you know exactly what they are talking about. Something magical happens, when you can finish each other’s sentences and an extended preface to a conversation is no longer needed.
Today, out of nowhere, Azul said to me, “If you give a pig a melon it will last 1 day, if you give a pig an orange it will last 100 days!” The what, the what?! I didn’t even know where to begin to be able to respond to that. But, I did wonder if I sound like that to him sometimes when I’m talking. Magic huh?
Mommy’s The Worst
Azul has picked a new habit. Well, I’m not sure it’s a habit yet, but it is definitely a new behavior, and I’m not sure if my indifference to it is turning it into a habit. But what do I do?
So, when my five year-old gets mad or doesn’t get his way, he begins to march around, his brow furrowed, knees high in the air, bent arms swinging at his side, and feet firmly placed on the ground when they meet the floor (really, he would make any drill sergeant proud), proclaiming, “Mommy’s the worst! Mommy’s the worst!”
Now if this stems from some deep-seated need to protest authority, I’m okay with that. Or if he is a natural cheerleader, cheering for the good or the bad, just wanting to express himself, I’m okay with that too. And to be fair, I have also gotten the, “Mommy’s the best” — not quite as often, but it’s happened.
When the demonstration begins, it is a funny thing to witness and I haven’t taken it personally, but this is where the indifference comes in — should I do something or not react at all? If I get hurt over it (and really, parents should never show weakness to their children’s insults), I know he will continue to do it, or if I laugh at it (as I have at times in the past), he will continue to do it, or if I do nothing and just give him the “What you talking about Willis” look (yup, done that too), he will continue to do it. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I guess this is really what parenting is all about.
Carmelina Hart 