The inevitable has happened. Colin has hit the terrible twos.
Okay, so he has always had his moments {obviously} but more of them seemed to be sweet than terrible, or at least that's how I've seen them to be. Now, all of a sudden {and I mean over the last two days} he has started to look me square in the eye, lean back and very purposefully say "No." ...or scream or yell or hit or kick or somehow show me that he is in charge of his own destiny.
He has even started to tell me "stop it" when I give him an unexpected kiss or hug.
What has happened to my sweet little charmer, who would run over and give me tight hugs with an enormous amount of kisses and belly laughs.
The innocence is wearing away.
I thought I had 15 years or so before that happened.
Well, now I have no idea how to handle this because I thought I had finally gotten a handle on the lil' monster moments. Time outs, serious conversations and the firm tone have all seemed to lose their value, or at least they do not seem to be working like they once did. So I am fresh out of ideas.
Its days like these where I wish I had more perspective on parenting. Everything within me just wants to yell back or throw my own tantrum, but most of the time I just look completely calm on the outside {which probably infuriates him all the more}. But, I have been learning more about how establishing trust between you and your kids majorly affects their attitudes and their behaviors, and I mean, yay, that's great and all. So, I've got it all in theory. It's the struggle of making that become a reality that I haven't seemed to get a handle of It's hard to step back to see the big picture when you are dealing with the crazie details.
It's just hard to grasp that clarity in the midst of the moment.
So I write. Writing is like praying with a pen, or something, for me. Its about the process and I don't always get all the answers, but I do get peace and perspective. I firmly believe He gives me fresher perspective when I write.
So, new challenge: build trust. Hmm, we'll see. Now I just have to figure out how to do that more than I do now...
