Flipped

It’s amazing to me how things can go from really great to really bad in a matter of moments as a mom. As I waited for the girls at gymnastics last night, I watched Finn play in the play area with a group of older boys. He wasn’t really playing with them as much as near them, but he interacted every few minutes and I could tell he was puffed up by the male companionship. How different this was from a year ago I thought, a time when he would have been trying to break everything in sight, including himself, a time when I couldn’t even dare to watch Logan or Riley for a second or two. Now I’m able to absorb myself in their experience for long hauls with the occasional glance at my two year old in the next room. Time to exhale.

The girls soon exited the gym and it was time to go, but not before registering them for the next session and scheduling Riley’s birthday party there. Suddenly, this sweet easily potty-trained child that has taken to calling all of us “honey” on a regular basis; flipped his lid. He started screaming at the Coke machine for a soda pop with blind determination. (As if I have ever purchased this child a Coke from a soda machine!) As I stood at the desk in a waiting room full of at least fifty parents trying to patiently wait for the receptionist to get off a very long phone call, he went into full swing, refused his coat, laid flat on the floor and screamed. We left.

It was better at home, I called back to register the girls. But the night didn’t end without Finn flushing his new Lightening McQueen underpants right down the toilet and then flooding the bathroom. Mike didn’t get home from the new gig, which is two hours away, until 7:30. It was long night. I’m sure there are many things in there to be grateful for, but well, I just don’t feel like it right now. Thank God that today is a new day!