9/03/2008

Fear of Man

In my greatly adventurous life, I find that going to the grocery store with all three kids can be the most trying to my patience (even over schooling). About a year ago I used to sort of scoff at the poor mothers who had to deal with whining, crying kids clutching a Dorito bag or a box of Trix cereal, but now I dare not. Things have changed for me. God has His little (or big) ways of teaching me a lesson. 

They don't run down the aisles. They don't beg for stuff continually. They don't jump in one place or two places and make tons of noise. They argue. No longer is the strain physical like when they were two, but the strain is mental. "No, I wanna push the cart!" "No, Mom said that I can get the romaine lettuce!" "He won't stop antagonizing me!" "She keeps poking me to get me in trouble! See! Now I AM in trouble!" "He ate the last sample!" "Here! He can have the last sample, I saved it for him! See, he doesn't even want it! He is seeking some sort of revenge on me! I can see it in his eyes!" 

The quotes go on and on. 

And I will admit there is a sort of begging that happens with Eraser Eater at times. Every time we pass a sugar cane or a coconut, he wants me to buy it. When I just ignore his request, he wanders behind the oranges and sort of sulks, but he tries not to look like he is sulking because he is petrified at what people think of him. 

I remember during the summer months he was under water when the lifeguard blew the whistle for "adult swim." When this happens, all the kids have to file out of the pool. Eraser Eater did not hear the whistle so he kept swimming once his head popped up to the surface. Once he saw that I was calling him and asking him what in 'tarnation' he was doing disobeying "adult swim" he looked at me wide-eyed, about to cry. He suppresses it well, I must say. Once in the car he wept silently at how mortified he was. Whenever it was mentioned he cried openly. 

When at the beach and digging that huge sand hole a mentally challenged boy (who could use a few meals missed) jumped right on in and his fist landed in Eraser Eaters side. Eraser Eater barely made a sound but his face looked like he was about to poop his pants. He crawled out of the hole the best he could and scrambled behind the Professor's beach chair. And you know the rest. He wept silently. That kid rammed into him good. The big kid in the hole had no idea any of this happened.

So here's to my second day of school, successfully done, and another coming tomorrow and the next day. Ok, I will not think that far ahead, I am getting depressed.

6 comments:

Gen said...

Aw, Eraser Eater is a sweetie.

I hear ya on the grocery shopping with kids. You cannot imagine how liberating it is now that I can leave them home. Well, you probably can imagine it. Your day is not that far behind.

R said...

Groovy---I leave them home a lot for little amounts of time; I mainly leave the Oldest maybe with EE. It is getting closer, yes. I usually take them though just to get them out of the house, they are such homebodies.

I do envy your liberation!!!!

Bee said...

Tender hearts, I tell ya...

You always wonder how you could have another personality if you have another child..then you have another child and you wonder how it happened that they are so the same, yet different from the other kids.

I fixed my post, you sneaky commenter, you.

Oh, and if you find out the cure for whining? Do tell. This summer I was thisclose to going insane from whining.

Dapoppins said...

My kids argue too. I don't know how to get them to just stop without gagging them. Or they play tag in the store. I can't get them to go in the yard to play tag, but take them clothes shopping and it is time to play tag.

My 10 year old gets embarrassed, but his resulting frustration isn't usually quiet...

How do we help boys deal with this?

I should be doing school...but-blah,blah,blah, I got an email from our online school that it doesn't start until the 8th...

I am so glad that nobody got killed at your house today because of home schooling...

Whistle Britches said...

i'm laughing at the idea of a kid using a 5 syllable word to describe what is happening.

an-tag-on-i-ZING!
you should be proud!

Mrs. Sinta said...

My sensitive child is also extremely stoic, so I seldom knew/know when those really hurtful things were even happening, unless this child worked up the courage to tell me, which was not often. As this child matures, I have noticed an increased ability to talk to me about feelings, which is a big help. Motherhood is much harder than we originally thought it was.

If you want to curb dirt eating behavior, make it a chore.

For instance, "It's Thursday, time to eat your dirt."