It's been a while since I've updated our lives. I had that one terrific experience with Casey. But then he was a holy terror that night. I had to ban him from his Lightning McQueen Christmas gift from his grandparents for the evening as punishment. I don't remember what he did anymore-- the routine is getting tired. And tiring.
Take this evening for instance. I swung by with Marcie to pick up Casey from school. Casey was going potty when we arrived, and we said hello as we passed by the bathroom door, but wanted to give him his space. After he finished his business, he came running up to me and Marcie, and Casey gave me a big bear hug. Then he rubbed Marcie gently on the head and told her, "Good girl, Marcie. You're so cute." This was followed by him asking where his Lightning McQueen is. I told him it was at home with Daddy and he could have it when we got home.
Casey practically skipped out of school. But once we passed through the gate, Savage Casey returned. Instead of getting into the car like I asked, he ran in the opposite direction-- thankfully not in the parking lot. He sat down on a bench. I told him he had until three to get up and come toward us-- and if he didn't come, he wouldn't be able to play with Lightning McQueen tonight. I counted to three. He didn't budge. Another parent in the parking lot commented to me that she had just had the same conversation with her son. I told Casey I was leaving and made movements to leave when he came running. I buckled him into the car, and in the time it took me to put his stuff in the trunk, he had smacked Marcie in the face.
I didn't yell. But I did open the door, unbuckled his seatbelt and tell him to get out of the car and sit on the curb. And he did. But then he started to wail. And he threw himself down on the pavement. He sobbed and sobbed and cried loudly. Fortunately for me, I was the only one around. When he calmed down, I told him he could get back in the car, but he needed to apologize to Marcie. He refused. So I told him he needed to sit on the curb and think about things until he was ready to tell her he was sorry for hitting her. His wailing continued. Then I had an idea-- I pulled his leftover graham crackers from his lunch sack and asked him if he wanted them. He said yes. I told him he could have them as soon as he apologized to Marcie. And he did.
Next stop was the dry cleaners. This was another ordeal-- I'll spare you the minute details. Suffice to say if I hadn't already told him no more Lightning McQueen at that point, I would have then. And then we came home. Casey's new thing is to help feed the dog. He likes to scoop out the wet food and put down the dish for the dog. And of course we let him.
Boy is he up and down. After being so helpful with the dog food, though, he cried uncontrollably when he felt his after-dinner-snack-food was being threatened by Marcie's presence (and truthfully, with good cause). He's so up and down- it must be hard work to be on such a roller coaster all the time.
As I often think when my patience have been tried-- it's a good thing kids are so darn cute. Here's a photo of me with the kids on Saturday, after Casey's pizza meal:
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