It was a day. A long day. A rough day. A day I wished my book wasn't back ordered and I had soaked in all it's information.
We were supposed to get photos taken this morning. I was successful in getting a few pictures of Brooke that you can see below but the group shot never happened. There were a variety of factors that contributed to our failed attempts at sisterhood harmony, but primarily it was in part to Mckenna's attitude and Brooke's ignorance of the event. The combination was deadly. It got ugly. We survived the heat of the moment but the fire was building throughout lunch and when we went to pick up the pictures. It was time for Mommy's meltdown when we got out to the car.
It seemed that my tears finally got Mckenna to listen. When I explained to her that Mommy is just a girl who was once little like her and has now grown up, got married, and had her own children and so I still have feelings and they are hurt by her continued disobedience . She was quiet, looked at me, then began crying. This led my sensitive Baileigh to cry over the fact that Mckenna has made Mommy cry who then in turn made Brooke cry because everyone else was crying. My Suburban suddenly feels small when it contains four crying girls.
In the midst of our day was a horrifying moment. This is the setting.
The girls are eating their cheese pizza and grapes in the food court. I'm munching on my salad and pretending that the calories in their crusts won't count. Lunch was the highlight of our day in terms of behavior. Maybe they were just hungry. Anyway...I make eye contact with a woman who is passing by our table. We both give the courtesy smile. She stops and says, "We have the same families, except this is now my baby," as she motions towards her daughter who looks to be a little older then Baileigh. "My three girls are 7, 9 and 12." We share a little laugh and in effort to make some small talk I say, "Any advice?"
Her reply, "Have the sex talk early!"
WHAT! WHAT! Then she had the nerve to wander off to her table for lunch. She said her oldest was 12...that means I have 6 years at a maximum to formulate my thoughts!
A Love Loud and Clear
3 hours ago
1 comment:
I'm wondering if God stamps out the second born from the same cookie cutter. So many moms I know say similar things about their second born - the "wild child," the "strong-willed" one, the harder one to deal with, etc. I can definitely relate. I actually went and got Dr. Dobson's first edition of the "Strong-Willed Child" when my second-born was little. Lately, I've been thinking of having an in-depth temperament test done (at a counselor's office), so we can better learn how to connect and communicate with her. Hang in there! Here's some advice from Cloud and Townsend: "when all else fails, connect."
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