ethan has been testing me.
and i have been failing.
he gets up and is grouchy. mean and rude to me. mean and rude to alexander.
yet he's an angel at school. go figure.
i know he's good at school because i get a citizenship report (both social and academic).
when i pick him up from school...30 seconds later...and i'm not kidding....he is rude and mean to me.
i have tried different approaches. tried ignoring this behavior. nothing seems to work.
on saturday during E's soccer game, he was ignoring the ball (which was coming right to him), and he was ignoring his coach. so i tried to get him to pay attention. his reaction? he turned around, raised his arms (and fists) at me and shook them. then he yelled at me. oh yeah. that was lovely. nothing like every parent on the field watching and then staring at me. i was coming close to my breaking point. my mother in law as at the game. james was out of town for the day....and linda (my mil) could see it in my face and hear it in my voice that i needed a break. so she took E. she was going to have two of his cousins already so she said one more would not be a problem.
of course he was good for her.
sunday rolls around. and ethan was good. all day.
and today...when i picked him up from school...he was good. NO attitude. not even when we were doing homework.
what changed?
what happened?
if only i could figure it out.
i could save my sanity.
i have been talking to ethan.
telling him i won't be upset if he doesn't get perfect grades on his school work. he seems very worried about that.
i tell him he can come to me with anything.
i want to have that kind of relationship with him. it's so very very important to me.
the one thing that can take me to my breaking point faster than anything...well, not really that fast....it takes a while....but it is the one thing that gets to me.....is his never-ending attitude.
sitting on the loveseat while james plays a game with the boys. i'm drinking an extra hot mocha (thanks james)...still feeling achy with a sore throat. though i definitely feel better today than i did yesterday. hoping i feel 100% tomorrow.
so ethan is sitting at the bar tonight eating ice cream.
E: do you have a boyfriend? girls have boyfriends.
me: yes. i have a boyfriend. daddy.
E: no, he's your husband.
me: well, he was my boyfriend first. now he is my husband. E, do you have a girlfriend?
E: yes. a million of 'em. i'll tell you three.
me: (laughing softly)....okay, who are they?
E: taylor, ashley and em.
cute convo. but seriously? first grade and we're already talking girlfriends??? which leads me to tell you how old i was when i first kissed a boy. second grade people. and the lucky guy's name was bruce. no clue what his last name is...lol....but he was a blonde with freckles. that, i can remember.
1 comment:
I will tell you what my mom, the former teacher, told me when I asked her the same question about my kids behaviors.
She said kids are on their best behavior at school because they KNOW that it is NOT a place of unconditional love.
At home, they obviously have it with you and therefore let all the good, bad and ugly FLY! Home and you...that's a safe place to let that less than perfect side shine (insert snicker and eye roll here)
You could make the argument, well yeah but he also did it at the soccer game, but look at the equation. YOU were THERE! Again safe place.
Just my two cents, I think you are doing an awesome job giving your kids the environment that let's them feel comfortable to share ALL their emotions.
Of course knowing this, there are still days you are going to want to sell him to the gypsies, or give him away for FREE!
HEE
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