LJ / DW Idol/ Survivor: Dig It

[adoptedwriter]

It starts with a want;

a simple want but with with lousy timing.

no words to explain but many passionate feelings abound:

     impatience

     insistence

     frustration

“Later” (I avoid the word,“no”.)

Her sense of time is yet-to-be formed and only now matters. 

“Let’s go read some Pete the Cat,” I offer. 

There is no reasoning

but my decision remains

because, consistency is key at this point.

Is this escalation going to be worth it?

     Heat rises; I take a deep breath.

     Hearts race; mine and hers.

     Her face reddens, akin to a panic attack.

Moaning and whining increases.

“Sorry sweetheart; not time now, but we can read your Pete story.”

Emotion escalates to something above anger:

     ire? 

     fury? 

     wrath? 

     rage?

She dramatically drops to the floor.

Her small, pudgy hands strike at the air.

Her bare feet bang the floor, pink polish chipped off her toes,

and vocals surge into howling.

She writhes and digs her tiny fingers into the carpet

but I must dig in as well and stay calm.

This will pass, but her conviction is powerful.

and I ponder as she swings her sweat-soaked, golden curls left and right,

will she become an actress? an athlete? a heavy metal singer in a band? an opera diva? or forever scarred because I told her “Snacks are for later”?

I clutch the Pete the Cat book to my heart and wait.

The screams sound like something awful in a horror movie.

She has my strong will with her mother’s short fuse. 
Damn!

She’s only two.

Her three-minute screech-and-scream fest feels like 30 minutes, but it probably feels more like three hours in her toddler-time world. 

I love her so much, but love doesn’t mean you don’t need a few rules,

even at Granny’s house.  

The fist pounding slows. 

The wails become softer. 

Tears mixed with sweat beads slowly trickle down her temples.

She sighs. 

Breathing slows.

Her blue eyes gaze to one side in exhaustion.

I’m still patiently holding Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons and I open to page one.  

She sits up and looks over at me quizzically

and joins me on the sofa. 

The incessant sobbing subsides. 

“Gwanny weed Pete?” (She can’t say ‘Rs’.)
 

“Pete the Cat is wearing his favorite shirt,” I begin, “the one with the four totally groovy buttons...”

 

Groovy, I dig Pete the Cat as much as she does right now. Pete is a cool kitty dude and he totally saved our day.

 

PS:

If you have small folk and have not heard about this literary blessing, I highly recommend Pete. He has music, books and videos. (See my icon.)

https://www.petethecatbooks.com/  or Amazon.com 
 

Comments

[bsgsix]

I recall those days, as much as I recall reading Pete the Cat to James when he was 2 and 3 as well! Those were great books; between those and Elephant and Piggie, I think we own a small children's library in the attic now! If James doesn't have kids, I'll definitely have to donate those books... and maybe hold on to one or two favorites, because Pete was a groovy cat. :)

Oh, and if she becomes an opera diva, send her my way for stories and lessons, lol. ;)

[adoptedwriter]

I saved a ton of our kids' books. Luckily they respected books and very few were torn, stained or otherwise too gross to reuse. I divided them up between both daughters and myself once grandpeople were coming. Now the collection is growing again! LOL

[wolfden]

This is my life - all day, every day.

[adoptedwriter]

I hear ya! This past weekend was extra bad. HoneyB has never been this reactive before with us, but my daughter says it's a daily thing at her house. Was it TheUnforgiveables / Sarah who used to call her kid a "two-nager"? LOL

[wolfden]

I usually say three-nager but two-nager works.

Such big feeling for such small people.

[adoptedwriter]

Yes!

[murielle]

Aww! It is hard for me to imagine that angelic little face in melt-down mode, but of course she's a growing person with feelings and desires. She doesn't know it yet, but she is so blessed to have you for her grandma.

This is such a wonderful piece. I felt right there with you both. <3

[adoptedwriter]

This is newer behavior. She has always known what she wants but not with the "brat factor". I think lacking good quality sleep was part of the issue. We may change up some babysitting to get her more sleep this coming weekend and see how that goes. (I sit at her house instead of her coming to our house.)

[halfshellvenus]

This is something that was more familiar to me from other people's kids than from our own, but two can be such a tough age. Kids that age want what they want, and redirection can be key to helping to get through it!

I haven't heard of Pete the Cat OR his groovy buttons, but his facial expression reminds me of the crabby little penguin in some of my LJ icons. :)

[adoptedwriter]

MermaidFan was super easy. She had only 2 days / instances of this level of roughness that I recall. (One one of those days she smacked a soft taco against the wall. LOL) (Now we laugh.) Fuzzy1 was the hot-head. I could tell the difference just holding her after being born. Apparently my birth father was a hot head altho by the time I knew him age had mellowed him a lot.

[bleodswean]

Sounds like you've got a handle on the TTs! Distraction!!! I enjoyed the way you told this.

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[gunwithoutmusic]

Oh my niece loves Pete the Cat, too! :) I don't get to see her as much as I'd like to because she lives in a different state, but I remember her two-year-old phase all too well, so this is pretty familiar to me - I know how hard it is to have to dig in your heels when they dig in theirs, especially when seeing them so upset is breaking your heart. I liked the style of this piece, as well; good work :)

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks so much!

[alycewilson]

Pete the Cat was one of KFP's favorites, too. This story reminds me of a time I was babysitting my niece when she was about the same age. My sister had made the mistake of showing me the "snack bag" with multiple options in front of the little one, and of course, as soon as her momma left, she wanted a snack. I gave her one, but then she wanted another, and another! I had to find a way to distract her, ultimately carrying her into the living room to read her a book.

[adoptedwriter]

All you can do is all you can do. Yep! Thanks!

[swirlsofpurple]

Kids! Love the way you convey this interaction, and such a sweet ending!

[adoptedwriter]

Thanks!

[ashgael]

My children were really well behaved at that age, It was still a couple of years before my youngest started showing the first symptoms of bi-polar.
After that a standard temper tantrum like that would have been easy.
It does take a few tries on their part to figure out that the strategy doesn't work, one to know if it does

[adoptedwriter]

Yes. I am hopeful that sleep issues made this last weekend worse than necessary. We have a strategy for this coming weekend to try. Thanks!

[flipflop_diva]

Oh my! This could be about Ellie. Though most of it's because we tell her she can't give her dinner to the dog and then she gets very upset :) But ohhh, did I feel this entry.

She does have Pete the Cat books though! She loves them!!