My early morning meeting got me home around 9 am. Ethan had a little tantrum when I arrived, but I was ready, thanks to some late night counseling with Mr Moo. I ignored the whining and screaming and picked up the smiling Scottmarshmallow who was toddling around after me: "Hi! Hi! Hi!" It's his word of choice.
Ethan calmed down pretty quickly and came out to the table. Meanwhile, I had written BREATHE on the whiteboard. I offered him a granola bar, since the babysitter mentioned that he had refused breakfast. Low blood sugar is a bad thing at our house. He accepted and asked, "Mom, why are you staying happy today?"
Yikes. 9 am and he is surprised that I haven't flown off the handle by now. I have been really edgy lately. Mr Moo suggested that it could be because I just weaned Scott - maybe that puts hormones in flux. That makes me a weaner and Scott a weanee, I suppose. Bring on the energy! But, back to my point. I knelt down next to Ethan's chair and told him, "Ethan, I need your help today. If you see me getting angry, please pat me on the arm and tell me to breathe."
"Mom, what happens if I tell you to seethe?" he asked.
I explained that seething was being really angry inside and I wanted to be calm and happy. "What happens if I tell you to breathe?" he asked. "Then I breathe like this - in through my nose, out through my mouth - and I feel better." "What happens if you're angry and I tell you to breathe?" "I breathe like this and I feel better."
So far, I haven't needed it. And on my side I've got me, Mr Moo, my prayers, the whiteboard, and Ethan. At the end of the day, I hope to say: "Indeed I have conquered!"
1 comment:
Great advice. I'll make sure to use it next time I want to turn into a yippy little nasty person. Grrr.
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