I didn't think there could be any downside to a husband that has no problem letting me read whenever and as much as I want. After growing up with books hidden under the bed, books read with the hasty guilt of being caught, and books stashed in the bathroom (or hanging out the bathroom window on a rope after my siblings started doing regular sweeps of the bathroom), I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I married a man who understood and sympathized with my addiction. The only problem is, he gets equally as lost in a good book as I do...except he takes three times longer to finish it. And don't take that as a sign I read fast, he just reads that slow.
I admire slow readers a lot more than I admire fast ones, but when Charlie has mastered the art of climbing onto the kitchen counters, and is simultaneously sharpening his temper tantrum skills, Jim's desperate hand gestures of "you won't believe what's happening now", are hardly consoling to me. Jamie, on the other hand, woke up two days ago and suddenly realized that he has been blindly accepting his chores and duties as if they were reasonable, acceptable requests. He plotted his revenge and started his ill-fated rebellion by wrapping his legs around the table, making clear eye contact and saying firmly and authoritatively "No. You're not the boss of me.", when I asked him if he'd fed the dog. This continued (and continues) over every little thing, from finding his shoes, to excusing himself from the table. He was a relatively well behaved four year old not 48 hrs ago, and I'd like to know what happened. For some reason, Jamie can't get it through his head that his parents are also equally stubborn firstborns, who can and will exercise an infinite amount of discipline and perseverance. Something Jamie always has to learn the hard way. In a way though, I can handle Jamie's outright mischievousness better than I can handle Charlie's quiet subterfuge.
Either way, I need to go find myself a good book. This week is going to need it.
(I know this one is out of focus, but it's the only one I have. :-( )
3 comments:
Oh dear. I hope you realize that your blog is the equivalent of the world's best birth control for me? I love your boys, they are precious. But I'd be damned if they were MINE. I think I need to take a vow of no-motherhood.
It is hard to believe those sweet little innocent boys in the pics are the same ones in your post :-D. I love you kids, they are hilarious. Course I know it is much funnier to me reading it than it is to you actually dealing with it. Like Lexi looking at me with her sweet little eyes and just saying gentle but matter factually "no". And another battle of wills is on. Course at least with Lexi and Charlie, being only 1 1/2, you can still have a slight doubt they really and truly understand even though you know they do. With Jamie, no such doubt. I swear if you live past the ages of 3 and 4, nothing in their teens could be that horrible. Oh and no need for the disclaimer on the last pic. Even slightly out of focus, it is still an adorable shot.
I love your blog. Always makes me feel better that we're not the only ones going through these parenting challenges. "No" seems to be a favorite word around here these days, for both parents and toddler. Doesn't help when the kid(s) in question is so darn cute either, does it?
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