They're Coming to Take Me Away

I've frequently quoted the phrase, "Sanity is way overrated," in response to how I deal with my life at times.  Today, was another testament to why that philosophy is a good one. 

Z was having some trouble and I was getting frustrated.  He'd already bitten a brother (yes, he's still 11) and made the other kids pretty upset and so I sent him outside to play.  I did go out and talk to him a couple times to try to get him to calm down, but nothing was really working.

My friend, KF stopped by (for a quick three-hour visit ... I do like her for sure!) and she helped me cope with my frustration over Z's building temper.  He doesn't like to be forced to be outside even though he's my most outdoorsy kid.  But sometimes, I feel like it's better to put a door between he and I when he's acting up -- Mama needs some time out, too.

Before long, KF whispered to me in shock (about the same second I heard the sound) that he'd broken our front window with his hands.

Fortunately, like our back door slider, he only made it through one pane of glass.  But the HOA will start their letter-writing campaign immediately, I'm sure, because this was the front window.

I checked his hands first of all and they were pretty cut up, but nothing too deep.  I cleaned him up and had him sit down in a chair in the room where I was with my friend.  It's funny how much more negotiable he is after he's made a big mistake that he cannot take back.

When C got home, he was so mad that he did not have words.  Well, he had some, I'm sure, but thankfully, he held them in at that point.  He did send Z up to bed for the rest of the night.

C and I have had a lot of talks about what I could have done differently to help Z through this tantrum of his and sure, there are things I should have done differently.  Isolating him when he's so worked up, doesn't often work.  But my own mounting frustration over the course of his poorly behaved day, did not enable me to see more clearly at the time.

KF and I often joke when talking about our kids that someday we'll be roommates in a padded room at the funny-farm when we've gone completely insane from all the little events like this one.  So after texting her later in the evening to thank her for being here while all this was happening, she decided to send me a fun link to this video.

I will forever cherish this as "our song."  I hope you enjoy the humor in this as much as I did...

Goodnight.  Sleep tight.  Thank you again, KF.  You're awesome.