Anyone who knows me would NOT list patience as one of my traits. I suppose I'm not the most IMpatient person in the world, but I tend to get annoyed pretty easily - more easily than I would like.
Thus, you can imagine that I am being put to the test right now as the mother of a toddler! Moreso than at any point until now, Monkey is testing my nerves on a daily basis, and I know it's not his fault, but it's hard not to get frustrated and short with him. :-(
For starters, Monkey knows what the word "no" means, but refuses to listen to it if it is spoken just once. There's some evidence that three is the magic number, but sometimes even that doesn't seem to do the trick, and he requires physical movement in his direction to get the desired behavior. Thus, he is constantly standing on his chair, standing on his Leapfrog table (which is now legless, because of prior climbing attempts), climbing on the dog's cage, running around the dining room table, shaking the stair gates, and countless other taboo, potentially unsafe activities. I'm becoming that mommy that sounds like a broken record, saying "no," "stop," "Mommy said no," and "did you hear me?" until I'm blue in the face.
Mealtimes are still a challenge as well. If I were to list every food that Monkey will eat, he'd seem like a pretty well-rounded eater (although still with his quirks). But the thing is that I can't depend on him to eat any one of them on a given day - his appetite, likes, and dislikes seem to change on a daily, if not hourly basis, and some foods are apparently ONLY appetizing if they are served on MY plate, not his...
I think my frustration has been exacerbated a bit because we've been "off" our routine for about two weeks now. We took a trip out of town, then less than a week later had family here for Thanksgiving. We've done our best to stay close to mealtimes, naptimes, and bedtime, but I think Monkey is just plain overstimulated at this point, and we need to get back into a more consistent, less overwhelming daily routine. Sadly, that won't happen this week, as we're back on the road on Thursday. But maybe the week after that, although that's only two weeks before Christmas, and more travel.... Sigh.
So, if anyone knows where I can pick up some extra patience, it would sure come in handy over the next few weeks, months, and years!! :-)
2 comments:
Kristin, if you find that extra patience, please give some to me. Even a teaspoon or so more than what I have currently would help. Your blog entry could have been written about Jack. Seriously, are our sons twins, separated at birth? ;)
I think they want control right now, and they can't tell us, and it's frustrating for them. That's what I tell myself, but it is hard to be patient. The other day, after a terrible tantrum at the post office, I snapped at Jack. Not physically, but after I got him into his car seat, I held his arms down by his sides and yelled "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" at him. Of course, I felt so terrible immediately. Jack let out one of those big post-cry shudders, and nestled his face into the side of the car seat, facing away from me, presumably because Mommy Monster was quite scary. I apologized and Jack gave me a kiss. I was just at the end of my rope after 15 minutes of nonstop screaming and writhing on the floor, in public.
So yes, some extra patience would be lovely.
I promise to share if I get some, Beverly!! I think our boys are getting ready for the Terrible Twos early - does that mean they'll finish them ahead of schedule, as well??
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