It is getting a bit stupid around the House of Crunch.
Emotions change quickly…..it is hard to keep up….from this
To this…in seconds flat…
Her growing beauty is as bewildering as her emotions. Her strength is terrifying. Her fury. Her rage is overwhelming. Her remorse. Her need for love and reassurance….heartbreaking.
Then we have this…..
He didn’t want his school mates to see this photo. He likes it. He likes it being with his little sister…but it also has his ‘dee dee’ blanket in it and he now hides that from his peers. He has cred to maintain.
I think being 8 (as he will be in a couple of weeks) is hard. I think harder for a boy. I don’t remember much of 8 myself. I remember liking 9 for some reason…8 maybe isn’t all that great for girls either.
While I watch Caity facing the psychological mind field that girl friendships can grow into, the rocketing rage and frustrations that face Adam on a daily basis leave me feeling completely at a loss.
I don’t even think Mentoring Boys covers this stuff.
I don’t know if books cover how an emotional, empathic, intelligent, borderline ADHD/OCD/YOUNAMETHEISSUE boy deals with the bloody sands that are the playground of life. The proving grounds where they all must show their strengths and hide weaknesses, where honest feelings must be masked, where popularity is counted in power of personality rather than likability.
It is like Sparta sans loin clothes.
On Sunday, knowing we had a lot we wanted to get done, we asked Adam to NOT go out. He did anyway….15 minutes later he was back..panting, sweaty, teary.
In that short time, he had managed to get into a knock down fight with a considerably larger boy. Another one had joined in. Thankfully there were some borderline honest witnesses.
Sore heads were examined, and parents were talked to.
Raging emotions were soothed. He was angry. He had been very angry. But he had stood up for what he felt was right and didn’t back down. He didn’t run for home…which I probably would have preferred, but instead he tried to deal with something he felt strongly about by himself…and emotions flared.
Lines were drawn in the sand.
I think his cred still stands…..
But his day was shot…as was ours.
We did take the family to the local pool. That was fun. Tara was terrified, but got into it all eventually….and the kids leaped around their dad like happy dolphins.
Dolphins that can’t swim..but never mind.
However…he emotions and lack of good sustenance gave way to what was really a migraine. His type of migraine causes him to throw up.
His migraines are caused by not eating right. I FIGHT every day to make him eat well. I try every type of food that is healthy that I THINK he might like…but the boy is strong and will hold out for the sweets…the junk….even when there really is NONE in the house.
He was also a bit bamboozled by the fact that he napped. He didn’t believe it….swore it was the next day. I was in a state about him then being concussed from his fight earlier.
While I do see through his many rouses, he is a consummate actor…..so I had to really think about it how much fakery was involved….was he trying to avoid school?
Who knows.
He seemed no worse for wear today.
Just back to the yammering, the harping, the non stopness that drives us to distraction. That can spoil a simple trip to the store.
And being that I had already dealt with the lady shrieking “YOUR NOT THE BOSS OF ME” at me today…without irony…..I was feeling a little ‘frayed’ to put it mildly already.
And you can see this one is well on the way to being just as scary, if not even more so than the other two.
Needless to say, trying to have sushi with this lot after picking up their dad, was NOT a good idea.
Which is why I am assuming he went to bed before 10 and I am the only one currently up….except for the cats at the moment.
I really really wish I had more ‘mad skillz’ at this parenting thing.
I wish I was more patient.
I wish I understood more what was making them tick.
I wish I could protect their little hearts more.
I hate the world in which they have to find their way.
I hate the way it affects them.
I hate bearing the brunt of their ‘bad days’….even though I know that is my job.
I hate having to hurt for them.
I hate being mad at them.
I hope they aren’t too mad at me.
themombshell says
If wishes were horses… You are doing your best, which is all any of us can do. Its a rough road to ride, this whole motherhood gig and my butt hurts!
.-= themombshell´s last blog ..see ya, wouldn’t want to be ya =-.
Amber says
Cred? I am so not ready to deal with cred. Maybe it’s a boy thing? I sort of hope so, just because that buys me more time.
And I’m with you in hating the world they have to make their way in. And wishing for more parenting ‘mad skillz’. I have my good moments, but I also have a lot of bad. I just hope that it sort of works out in the end.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Praiseworthy? =-.
JP @ Rants n' Rascals says
I love this post. I hate being angry with my kids, too. It’s never easy and can hurt bad at times when they don’t understand you are doing what’s best for them because you love them so much.
.-= JP @ Rants n’ Rascals´s last blog ..SMART love of learning absolutely fantastic! =-.
Maddy says
Parenting seems so much harder the more you’re involved [in all fairness it should be the other way around!]
But yes, those emotions……still not to worry, soon they’ll be cut with a nice mix of hormones [and boy is that ever fun]
Similarly, I fully sympathize with the vomiting kind of migraine as we also have that – I’m surprised it’s not more commonly known.
.-= Maddy´s last blog ..Multiplying factors =-.
Redheadlaw7 says
Your blog and your children are adorable! I have a 9 year old so I can feel for ya! Come stop by and check out my blog. Let me know if you’d mine having your crunchiness added to my blogroll!
Have a great Saturday
Red
harrietglynn says
OK – I’m scared now.
.-= harrietglynn´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
CynthiaCrumb says
What a great post. I fear I’m in for so many of the same issues in very short time. Don’t know that there’s an answer except to keep trying. And to keep loving them.
.-= CynthiaCrumb´s last blog ..Day 66 of 74. Tips for home renovations with children. =-.