I'm No Fairy Godmother.....

For Libby today is an entire day without toys. She had her toy privileges revoked yesterday after refusing to help clean up what looked like an explosion of plastic, plush and wooden blocks in the house. Instead, she chose time out and a loss of toys for all of today. The consequence stung a little more yesterday than today, and as soon as I'd blurted out, "Okay. No toys for an entire day, then." I regretted it, knowing this was really more of a punishment for me than for her.

We ended the day bearing witness to a series of meltdowns complete with tears. Shane's comment was, "Wow, I've never seen her so far gone before. Usually she can at least recover a little." I had to keep reminding her to take deep breaths. She was so upset that hyperventilation seemed imminent and she was complaining that her head hurt. Through her tears, all red-eyed, drooly and blotchy-faced, she tried to tell me something, but was incoherent. I reminded her to take a deep breath and asked her to try telling me again. This time she said, "You're. not. make. ing. all. my. dreams. come. truuuuuuuuuuuuuue."

Well, she had me there. I was not, in fact, at that moment making all of her dreams come true. She was right. But Marge Kurtz once said words to me that couldn't have been more true. They're so simple and yet they've stuck with me and I hear them (in my mind) often. She said, "No one wants to be around a brat." She was right. I don't. And I want people to want to be around my kids. So today I'm sticking to my guns. And maybe someday in Libby's future someone of authority will ask her to help clean up. And without hesitation she'll jump in rendering herself as helpful and cooperative; a team player. With that she'll be given more opportunity and greater responsibility. Doors will open. The world will be hers....

....and all of her dreams will come true.

Part II

6:38 pm

Alright, I'm adding a part two to this post because I've just had an interesting conversation with Libby over dinner and it seems her three year old self isn't lacking for funny things to say. The filter from her brain to her mouth hasn't developed yet, and maybe never will. One of many charming family traits. So here's our dinner conversation.

Topic: Childbirth.

"Mom, when your were in the hosibul (hospital) having a baby, why did they put a blanket over you?"

"Oh, they do that to keep the mom comfortable until she's ready to push the baby out."

"Well, if I were the nurse, I'd pound that baby down!" (makes a pounding motion with a closed fist)

"What do you mean?"

"With professional help."

Alrighty then. That's my girl.