Thank Mom

You know of the "mother's curse", don't you?

It's when your mom says to you, "You just wait. I hope you have one just like you were!"

My mom said it to me. I she got what she wanted. And she's not even around anymore to laugh. My genes are evenly distributed between my two boys. My oldest got my gift of gab & my outgoing personality. My youngest got my temperment. All of it. And he got just as much patience in life as I did, which ain't saying much. Oh, and did I mention that he was the Leslie who got all of the bullheadedness? This is a trait that comes from a looong line of ancestors. Actually, my oldest got some of this, too. But the "bullheaded Leslie" trait was most generous to my youngest.

Not only does this mean he wants it his way and his way only, but it also means that he ain't going to wait long for it eather.

Take going to have our annual Christmas pictures taken for example. When we make our appointment at Sears for this, the clerk has come to begin asking their supervisor for overtime. If the photographer moves Daniel's hands to his lap, he will immediately move them to each side. If we say, "smile", he will pucker. When I press for his cooperation, he has a meltdown in tears. One year it was so bad that the photo showed his stained face despite the computer touch-ups.

Today, I told him that in order for him to be able to watch TV or play, he is to make his bed & pick up his toys. He declared he didn't want to do that, so I gave him a choice: Either do as he was asked or he could choose to sit on his unmade bed for the duration of the day, alone in his room. So he chose to make his bed...but got majorly impatient when he put his bedspread on because it was twisted. He did not have the patience to untwist it & only become more bullheaded, frustrated, and angry the more he fought with the spread. So I told him he could sit on his bed until he cooled off.

Yeah, now that was a thought.

He sat on his bed & wailed, "I want my moooooooom-my!!!!" Then I heard grunting noises as if he were struggling with something. When I went in, there he was pulling at his shirt apparently trying to rip it to shreds. That one got him a paddling and he still had to sit on his bed.

Nevertheless, since I have walked more than a mile in his shoes, I knew what it was going to take to get my goal accomplished in this child. And I won the battle of wills - this time.

And don't even get me started about the potty training.

I can only pray that God is gracious enough to allow Mom to watch this sight from her perch in Heaven. I know if she is, she is getting plenty of satisfaction. And I also think that she would be quite proud of how well I've been able to handle the situation. At least I know what to expect...and what happens next.

Before you get the idea that this kid is a little hellion, let me also be quick to point out that this bullheaded Leslie of mine can charm the socks right off both feet simultaneously. His brown eyes can roll around grab you by the heart & hold on for dear life. When being told goodnight at bedtime, he wraps one arm around my neck & places the other hand on my mouth to "shush" me. Then, he whispers that he has a secret...only to whisper some gibberish in my ear that I pretend to understand. Then he yells out, "Dad! Don't go yet!" and holds me down by the neck in a vicious headlock.

I really don't feel like fighting him on this issue anyway.