Fuse

Before motherhood, I don't think I had a "patience" fuse. It's grown over the span of four and half years, thanks to my beautiful Cole. There are times however, that the fuse, while gaining length everyday, sometimes ignites and burns at rapid speed. Sometimes, it can be de-fused, but other times, it detinates. I detinate.

Let's take tonight for example. Cole decides five minutes before bedtime that he didn't get the dessert he wanted and he now wants a popcicle. The fortune cookie from dinner wasn't good enough. If you don't know, Cole is a negotiator. He doesn't have the skill mastered because he doesn't quite understand that each party needs to get something out of the deal. But that doesn't stop him from trying his win-lose tactics on us.

He starts down his path.."But, I wanted a popcicle for dessert."

"You can have a popcicle tomorrow for dessert," I say. My patience is like that of a Saint.

"It will take too long for tomorrow," he declares.

And repeat about four times before Dad says, "Stop talking back, you just lost a popcicle for tomorrow. Now get ready for bed" (my patience is still here, losing Saint status, but still here)

Lots of pouting, more pouting, more pouting (from Cole, not me).

He reads a book to me, while pouting (pure talent, right) and I try to talk him logically through the situation.

"Cole, what do you think we should do about the popcicle?"

"Well, tomorrow is too far away and Dad said I can't have one now," still pouting.

"Maybe you could tell him you are sorry for talking back and that we can reevaluate the situation in the morning," I advise, still with uber mom patience! I amaze myself sometimes.

He listens (remarkable) and goes to tell Dad, "Sorry and maybe we can reevaluate in the morning," with a little help from me.

All seems good until I put him in bed and he is STILL pouting. I leave him to figure it out and go to clip by toe nails.

Soft sobs I hear from his bedroom. Mumbles. Getting louder,

"My mom shut my door" (not true it was cracked the same way it is every night"

"My mom shut my door", mumble, cry, mumble, REPEAT 15 times....

Here is where the fuse burned at a rapid speed and I detinated. I thought because I was in the bathroom, that Chris would engage in the situation, but that didn't happen so I slammed the drawer shut, flung open the bathroom door, threw open Cole's door, all while yelling nonsense about the situation.

You see, I am a negotiator as well. I try to get all of us what we want. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Cole now understood that I had hit my limit and upon removing myself from the bathroom for the second time, I hear him say as I walk past his room, "I'm sorry Mom." Ohhhh - he really knows how to pull my heart strings. A quick stop in his room to get a hug and kiss and for me to apologize too....we parted on good terms.

p.s. Chris was trying to figure out why the bathroom drawer won't shut. I had to confess that I broke it during my detination. Darn it.