The Terrible Twos??

Do they really, truly exist? Maybe they do, but it's all a matter of perspective.

Our precious little boy has transformed into something that only resembles Conlan lately. For the past few days I have had to deal with tantrums that I never dreamed would come. (Keep in mind, I have, in my opinon, one of the best behaved kids in the United States right now. I'm not sure how I ended up with him, but I'm grateful.) The mere mention of the word "no," which before came with obedience and understanding on most days, now turns my perfect child into a pile of flailing limbs and high pitched screams. When he refused to pick up his blocks, I took them away. This resulted in 45 minutes of raw toddler emotion. Should I call this the "terrible twos" and brace myself for months of difficult days? I could; many people do. But I'm trying to look at this from another angle.

First of all, last week was a schedule disaster. I was unable to do much after Tuesday night, and to be honest, I was feeling nasty before that. I can't expect Conlan to act "normal" when I spend most of the week on the couch. He spent most of the week on the floor watching movies, and it takes a while to get him back on a normal routine. So something as simple as picking up toys quickly became a big deal. Second, his Bugga and Bepa came to visit Friday morning (my parents). It is the right of a grandparent to spoil the grandkids. I will not deny either set of grandparents that privilege if they want it...to an extent. (Both sets spoil him, by the way, and we love it.) Grandparents in town always throw Conlan off. Third, he didn't nap ALL week and went to bed late most nights. The lack of sleep quickly caught up to him. Fourth, he came down with a fever on Saturday morning (probably brought on by his lack of sleep and allergies...caught a slight bug). With all of this together, I can completely understand how he would act the way he's acting right now. It doesn't excuse it, I still don't allow it, but it helps me see that no, my child isn't "terrible."

Perspective is an important thing in life. I still think my boy is wonderful, I'm not terribly pleased with the timing of his behavior, but God may be doing this so that I learn to deal with stress in a more appropriate manner. I started this Bible study last week about application of God's love in my life. It seems that how I deal with stress and disappointments within my family (either with my child(ren) or my husband) is a major thing I need to work on. It's a little sad to me that this is a new revelation to me, but as I've been going through this study, it's like a light has been turned on in my head. I don't handle stress...or disappointment...or change very well at all. I keep it to myself when it comes from random people, but my family is a different story. Patience is a virtue...how many times have I heard that? But seldom do I apply it. Okay, I should go make sure my little pseudo-monster is actually sleeping. That was one benefit of his quick 24 hour bug...he's been napping really well ever since... :)