Friday, November 14, 2008

In Which I Gripe

Jonah has been going through the typical difficulties (and I say this at risk of sounding like a "Parenting Magazine Mommy", which I am totally not) learning to control and appropriately express emotion. Obviously, this is a long road, but it starts at birth. Kids are generally pretty vocal and dramatic with their emotions and eventually, they've gotta learn a little self-control. And it's hard.

In the last couple of days, Jonah has tried both pushing and hitting me when he's angry or frustrated with me. He did NOT get away with that. So today, he tried a less tactile, but still volatile tactic.

He flings his hands toward me and flicks his fingers, kind of like if you were flicking water on someone. And for emphasis, he adds:

"You are MEANIT!"

Those are some... uh... strong words.

All summer, he's had free range to play outside and be a kid. And now, the weather has turned icky and we're cooped in the house together and we're already getting on each other's nerves. I don't know how I will survive the winter. Sure we do fun things, and we do preschool and we go to storytime. But we're still together all. the. time. And he considers me the primary entertainment committee. The poor kid-- he doesn't have anyone to play with. And "playing" is really not my thing. Play is a child's work-- and death by boredom for me. He can be quite good about playing by himself, especially with trucks and tractors, but those times are usually short-lived.

Today, for instance. I was finishing up the website project I've been working on. I spent a lot of time on the computer. I made sure to read him some stories, build him a traintrack, do schoolwork, let him help me make food, but then when I worked on the computer, he was right. there. all. the time. Either sitting/climbing on me, or begging, "Mommyreadabook! MommyI'mhungry! Mommyplaywithme! Iwannawachavideo! Iwannaseethatpicture! Where'smytraaaaaactor? Iwannnaaaaa..." ARG! So then I get short tempered and impatient which leads to snapping which leads to the finger-flicking scenario described above. Sigh.

I'm just gonna get this gripe off my chest really quickly--

It SUCKS that he is an only child.



I know.

Thankfulness.

I AM thankful. But today I'm also a little crazy.

I know others who would be so thankful to have what I have, and yet I complain. Not usually, just right now. Not that that's any excuse.

And I know that even if he had a sibling to play with, that would bring other difficulties and I would probably still complain.

Sigh. I'm just a whiner.

6 comments:

  1. Sweetheart,

    Being the sinners that we are, we simply cannot be content. I've been whining about the end of summer ever since the temps dipped below the 70s every day (sound familiar?).

    Our sinful nature crabs at everything which makes us uncomfortable (the cold weather being a prime example -- snow and sub-zero temperatures increase the crabbing -- been there, done that, got the t-shirt!).

    The great hymn writers can give us much comfort. For example, Johann J. Moller, 1704:

    I am content! My Jesus liveth still,
    In whom my heart is pleased.
    He hath fulfilled the Law of God for me,
    God's wrath He hath appeased,
    Since He in death could perish never,
    I also shall not die forever.
    I am content! I am content!
    TLH 196 - One of my most favorite hymns

    We're looking forward to seeing y'all over Thanksgiving, and then, together, we can talk about how much we will enjoy Spring when it arrives!

    We love you all,
    Dad Diers

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  2. ...and me, I'm whining because it's still 80 degrees and I'm sweating like crazy in a pair of surf shorts in my room as the humidity is off the charts. But thats jungle life on on the Equator.

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  3. Kristin is whining because it's warm. That's never goin' to happen here in the frozen north. I never whine because it's warm, or even hot. I always whine when it's cold. Now and in the future.

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  4. No, warmth is NEVER on my list of complaints.

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  5. Gah! What is it with you crazy people? Cool weather is AMAZING. I'm going to go live in the arctic or something. It's so awesome in the fall and winter...And did I mention the SKIING! AWESOME!

    Would you like some cheese with your whine?

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  6. Haha.. whining is indeed part of the human condition, but so is wanting to play with others. Does he go to a play group or something like that? There's a park and rec center around here that has all kinds of classes for little people. 3 1/2 is high time for him to get to be playing with other kids his age.. not all the time, but a couple times a week for sure.
    I hope the griping helped, and winter won't be that long. It never is :)

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