This was Luke at 4:36 p.m.
Luke has a stubborn streak. I sometimes wonder if I contributed to it due to him being the second child and possibly not being quite as strict with him as with Andrew. Again...I wonder.
One minute Luke wants "this" shirt on so I put it on him. The next minute he's ripping it off in extreme anger because he DOESN'T want it on. Huh? He wants to do EVERYTHING himself so if I even remotely touch his shoes, the door, his clothes, the tissue roll, (etc, etc) to give him a start, he screams and demands he do it himself. This is especially draining and frustrating on Sunday mornings when I prepare the kids for church by myself and, usually running late (arrrrgh, I hate being late), he wants to buckle his own car seat straps. Luke even fights me on putting his shoes on the correct feet. When I say to him, "Sweetie, your shoes are on the wrong feet. Do you want to switch them yourself?", he shrugs and turns away, as if I never spoke. Totally ignoring me. He enjoys wearing his shoes on the opposite feet simply because (and I honestly think this) I suggested he switch them.
Now, I am ALL about letting my children be independent of my help. I love that Andrew can dress himself and that both boys can go to the bathroom without my help. I pray that I can encourage them to tackle tasks alone and be motivated to try new things without Mommy by their side. What I'm struggling with is my own frustration with my child who, sometimes, cannot be satisfied.
This all just affirms how deeply fallen my child is. A post-it note must be hanging on my heart today; a reminder that I'm a parent who is a sinner, parenting a child who is a sinner. A reminder that I'm to glorify God in my dealings with Luke. No matter how hot my blood boils regarding the tantrums from my two year old, I'm no more satisfied in my own daily wants. Don't you know that I can throw a tantrum, too?
Watch out!
3 comments:
LOVE this post. Maybe because I can identify with it - both because of my middle child and myself.
Oh, Jawan! You totally hit it on the head about the second child. Ours is not the middle child, but is the second and last. Still, I can see similarities. It's amazing to see how their personalities develop, isn't it? Amazing and sometimes incredibly frustrating. ;)
Hey, who won your Bloggy Giveaway? I need to do one of those in my blog.
Thanks for emailing and commenting!
As to this - whew. I have 2 of these children, my oldest and youngest.
It's tough when the clock is ticking and they've decided to throw an I CAN DO IT MYSELF tantrum.
After dealing with my oldest (who drove me to tears many times), I've learned that humor sometimes works. Like saying, "Wow! That's one heck of a tantrum! We'd better get the video camera out to record this one to watch later!"
Whether humor will work for you, not sure, but trying to detatch yourself emotionally from the situation is important.
Hang in there!
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