A Mother of a Meltdown

  Eww...I just realized I dropped stew on my keyboard yesterday, ick....what was I saying?  Oh yes...meltdowns.  We're not talking about some kind of cooking fauxpax or a lesson in candle making.  We are in fact talking about a good old fashioned tantrum.  The kind of tantrum that leaves you exhausted, wondering somehow if your lack of parenting skills, somehow have resulted in this untethered outburst. 

  There are a couple of different kinds of tantrums that I, myself have been privy to. First,  This is what I call "the undercover tantrum", this is the kind where it's not totally obvious, although there is a lurking stinky attitude.  The grudge holding, stink eye if you will.  The second of these is much noisier,  with the threat of pushing the parent to the very edge of insanity.  In public this type of tantrum is embarrassing to say the least.  You struggle to maintain all composure, but inside you feel the cringe, the looming thought that all eyes are on you, somehow judging your parenting skills.  You somehow manage to whisper through your gritted teeth, "you better get off that floor, before you have a consequence..."   You really have no idea what that consequence will be at that moment, your just trying to get cooperation in a frenzied moment.

  Somehow, the child's attention is diverted...and "poof"...as if someone waved a magic wand....it's over.  We regain composure and move on to the next call of business.  We are a little worse for the wear, a little weather beaten if you will but we manage to pull ourselves together.  You know that if you can hang in there for a little while longer, bedtime will come and all will be well.  The scene in the Willy Wonka movie comes to mind, you know the one where Verruca's dad is trying to reason with her as he sweats it out.  The mom says something like, " happiness and harmony is what matters most with children".  Well we all know how that turned out for Verruca, now don't we?  I myself have given into the bribe, in a desperate plea I have caved and offered ice cream in return for "happiness and harmony". 

  I hear my parent's voices in the recesses of my mind,  "someday you will have children just like you".  When I was younger, I thought they were a little kooky.  The dawn of understanding has risen to enlighten me.  I get it now...sometimes I say to Big Daddy, "when they have kids of their own, we can just point and laugh.."  A little immature I know...what can I say....I hang around with kids all day  ;)