A Follow Up

So, about Thing One.

Maybe you other moms can relate to this.

You feel like you are going stark raving mad. Your child is constantly pushing your buttons, testing the limits. After awhile, you feel the tension growing, the behaviors getting worse. Suddenly, you've had it up to here (hold hand way above head) with said child. You begin to wonder how much boarding schools cost. You prepare yourself for a child facing a life of crime. You pour out your emotions on your blog.

And then the next day, *POOF*, said child is an angel.

And has been that way for over a week.

I mentioned this to my mom and she said she remembered going through that with us. She'd be at her wits end and then suddenly, it's like we'd reset and be perfectly good little children.

I think part of Thing One's issues stem from change. He's never been a big fan of change, and in the last six months, we've had a lot of strange around here. New job for Seth, new hours, new bedroom for the boys on a different floor than ours, new baby sister. And while Thing One hasn't necessarily made mention that any of these is an issue (except the room--he's still not wild about being up there), I think it's just part of his process in dealing with change. He's gotta fight about it somewhere, and it shows up most readily in school.

One nice thing I've noticed as he grows is that after he "resets", the stretches of good behavior get longer. So that's encouraging. I've also enjoyed hearing him pray for his attitude and asking God to help him make good choices.

So from the depths of despair to the peaks of motherly pride in zero time flat.

Such is motherhood.