Nikki got up and ran into the living room, jumped up on me
and gave me a kiss. What a terrific sign, as this is highly unusual. But when
she refused to brush her teeth I didn’t do what I normally do and let
her go to school with yucky breath. Instead I explained she would need to brush them
regardless of how late she was, but if she hurried, she’ll still have time. Of
course this was before her fifteen-minute fit of screaming, yelling, stomping,
and insisting her being late was my fault. This was new territory for us
because I have always given in, but not this time.
 |
| "Stop it!" |
Tooth and nail, Nikki fought until I heard the water flash on and off with her pouting face telling me she was done. That is, until I told her to come close so I could smell her breath. “WHY?” she bellowed before stomping off and running the water longer this time. I deliberately didn’t ask to smell her breath this time, seeing there was less than five minutes before the tardy bell rang. “Cameron will take you to school,” I said without looking up. He quickly put his jacket on and such is the beginning of Round 2.
“No,” she proclaimed, “He’s not taking me. You are.” When I
gingerly revealed he was doing her a favor and if she didn’t like it she could
walk by herself, she screamed high, long, and loud with her hands clenched at
her sides and her mouth open so far she almost swallowed herself. “Then I’m notgoing,” she said, giving me the eye stating she would meet me at high noon. I
ignored her.
 |
| "You're mean!" |
Ten minutes later, still standing as if time had frozen, I
looked at her. “Yes?” I asked surprisingly calm. She repeated, “I’m not going.”
I casually picked up the phone, left a message to the school she wouldn’t be
coming today, and hung up. Her eyes grew unbelievably large and her lower jaw
could’ve been a dustpan.
“Your brother and I are going to the library to do our
studies. You are not to watch television or do anything other than use the
restroom, lie in bed, or read.” When she agreed to that, I decided I was
letting her off too easy. “One more thing,” I said as I walked through the
house grabbing a pad of paper and a pencil. I wrote, “If I were the Mom” at the
top. I explained to her she will need to write how she would feel if she was
the mom and had a daughter behaving as she had. When I returned home a while
later, this is what I received with four detailed pictures:
 |
| Ah ha! Two whole months of no computer? Gotta see this! |
“If I were the mom I would make her go to school when her
teeth weren’t brushed. I would also make her go by herself. In addition to that
I would make her late for school. I would make her read instead of playing on
the computer at the library for 2 months. I would send a pretend docter’s note
so she couldn’t go outside to play with her friends, she would have to read
instead of playing the board games at school.”
At the library, I wish my camera had been with me in the bathroom again. A mother had her infant in the handicapped/baby bathroom and a little boy about three years old was running around playing with the automatic hand dryer. I tried to hurry because the automatic flush releases at the most inconvenient times and scares the hell out of me. As I was preparing to “clean up,” a little head popped under the door. “Hello,” he said and waved. “Um, you don’t belong here,” I said, “Can you go out?”
 |
| Don't you just hate uninvited guests? |
“Talbot!” the mother called loudly, startling the baby who
blared loudly, echoing in the bathroom. You know, I’m really becoming quite frightened of the
library’s bathroom.
 |
| "I washed my hands! Uh, chocolate? What chocolate?" |
When I got home, I felt the television and DVD player to
ensure they were not warm, therefore unused. “Mommy, is that you?” I heard my
daughter call out over running water in the restroom sink. “I had to wash my hands,” she said smiling, but I’m aware if my kids wash their hands without
being told, something is up.
 |
| "I was good the whole time, but I'll never do that again." |
That’s when she stepped into the light and I saw
the chocolate frosting surrounding her mouth like icing on a doughnut.
What can I say? She’s her mother’s daughter, but she did an almost perfect job in listening.
Meanwhile, ORS did not pull through, but my bank hasn’t charged me an overdraft fee yet, so maybe it’ll post tomorrow? My landlord said that since I’d paid the vast majority of the rent, and would have the rest within about a week, he wouldn’t charge me a late fee. So that was a huge relief. Where is PCH when you need them?
No comments:
Post a Comment