Meltdowns and other family fun!
Have you ever seen a 4 or 6 year old just completely melt down? We'll let me tell you, it's not pretty. Not pretty at all.Incident #1. The day before Christmas Eve, I mention to my sister that Mom will really be upset if we don't go to some sort of church service on Christmas Eve. My sister agrees and we decide to go to the children's service at the lutheran church where my niece goes to pre-school. Well my nephew (CR) heard the news and just lost it.
"I don't want to go to church."
"I don't WANNA GO TO CHURCH."
"I DON'T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH."
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO CHURCH!!!"
Over and over and over again. No amount of reasoning or discussion was possible. And of course my Mom is not too thrilled that this is his reaction to going to Christmas Eve service. I swear it was almost like he had been forced to go to church ever day for the past year where they burned him with a hot poker. It was just insane. He finally got so worked up that he couldn't stop crying and my sister physically took him upstairs for a time out. When he was gone, the silence was deafening. Of course, I had to be the smart ass, "So I think CR doesn't want to go to church." I got "the look" from Mom.
Incident #2. Christmas Day. My niece (CD) has gotten this toy called a balloon rocket. It's basically this hand pump that is used to pump up really long balloons and then you release them into the air and they basically shoot around like rockets. Very low tech, but cool. So after we had opened all of the gifts, we headed to the local playground so CD and CR could play with their gifts. And we had picked up another little girl (M) who was a friend of CD as well. We get to the playground and we start playing with the balloon rocket. Now CD is only 4 and still hasn't quite captured some of the nuances of sharing. What that means is that you need to take turns with M and CR using the balloon rocket. Well it was the favorite toy of the moment so it just couldn't not be shared and CD started to get upset when her older brother took the balloon rocket. She freaked, grabbed it back, and started shrieking: MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!
MINE!
It was just awful. And of course, how appropriate on Christmas Day. She kept shrieking and eventually got herself so worked up that she couldn't stop crying either. It was just brutal to watch, to experience. I really don't see how my sister deals with it.
As for the other family fun? Dad was awkward at first, and then loosen up a bit. Atleast I think so. He wouldn't take a hug when I first arrived, I got the handshake. But I sort of forced a hug on him when I left.
Enroute to the playground before the horrible balloon rocket incident, my B-n-L asked me if my Dad got me anything for Christmas. And actually he didn't. But I shouldn't feel too special, he didn't get my B-n-L anything either. And I don't think that really means anything. He got my Mom and my sister a cheesey gift (gift giving is not really his thing) and he really is self centered, so he may not have even consciously realized it. And that's okay. He would have probably gotten me cheesey gift and then I would have to figure out what to do with it! ; )
"I don't WANNA GO TO CHURCH."
"I DON'T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH."
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO CHURCH!!!"
Over and over and over again. No amount of reasoning or discussion was possible. And of course my Mom is not too thrilled that this is his reaction to going to Christmas Eve service. I swear it was almost like he had been forced to go to church ever day for the past year where they burned him with a hot poker. It was just insane. He finally got so worked up that he couldn't stop crying and my sister physically took him upstairs for a time out. When he was gone, the silence was deafening. Of course, I had to be the smart ass, "So I think CR doesn't want to go to church." I got "the look" from Mom.
Incident #2. Christmas Day. My niece (CD) has gotten this toy called a balloon rocket. It's basically this hand pump that is used to pump up really long balloons and then you release them into the air and they basically shoot around like rockets. Very low tech, but cool. So after we had opened all of the gifts, we headed to the local playground so CD and CR could play with their gifts. And we had picked up another little girl (M) who was a friend of CD as well. We get to the playground and we start playing with the balloon rocket. Now CD is only 4 and still hasn't quite captured some of the nuances of sharing. What that means is that you need to take turns with M and CR using the balloon rocket. Well it was the favorite toy of the moment so it just couldn't not be shared and CD started to get upset when her older brother took the balloon rocket. She freaked, grabbed it back, and started shrieking: MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!
MINE!
It was just awful. And of course, how appropriate on Christmas Day. She kept shrieking and eventually got herself so worked up that she couldn't stop crying either. It was just brutal to watch, to experience. I really don't see how my sister deals with it.
As for the other family fun? Dad was awkward at first, and then loosen up a bit. Atleast I think so. He wouldn't take a hug when I first arrived, I got the handshake. But I sort of forced a hug on him when I left.
Enroute to the playground before the horrible balloon rocket incident, my B-n-L asked me if my Dad got me anything for Christmas. And actually he didn't. But I shouldn't feel too special, he didn't get my B-n-L anything either. And I don't think that really means anything. He got my Mom and my sister a cheesey gift (gift giving is not really his thing) and he really is self centered, so he may not have even consciously realized it. And that's okay. He would have probably gotten me cheesey gift and then I would have to figure out what to do with it! ; )
posted by Trey @ 9:22 PM
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