I felt the heat rise, and my cheeks getting flushed. I felt like such a fool, but still couldn't think of another way to stop the impending doom. I had jumped to my feet and yelled out, perhaps louder than really necessary, "Jonas, don't you dare!" I watched as my enraged 2 year old took hold of the hand of another little boy in the cafe's play area, mouth open, teeth bared.
My outburst had caught him just in time, he dropped the hand and looked at me with a quizzical look, "Something wrong, mommy?" I marched over to the ball pit and simply looked at my two boys. My 3 year old walked slowly over to the table to put his shoes on, no questions asked. Jonas, still puzzled by the turn of events, followed his brother to prepare to leave. I could feel the eyes of the Spanish mothers as they looked our way. I'm not sure my quiet "Discupla" and "Perdoname" was enough to cover the outburst.
It's interesting, and frustrating, to watch the boys' very different ways of dealing with conflict and strangers. Bramwell will most usually back down and give in. Jonas, as experienced today, will fight tooth and nail to get his way. Not that much time between the two birthdays, same parents, same living situation, but still so different.
Needless to say, I'm not sure I can show my face at that cafe for a little while....
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4 comments:
It's so hard.... My little one (who's not so little) is going through a hitting phase. Ack!
As a mom who is doing her very best to raise them up right, it is extremely frustrating to witness this kind of behavior (and time and time again, in our case). And I feel as you do--embarrassed.
Hang in there, Valerie!
As for kids being different, it really is amazing how God makes them that way. There is not a more active calling than to shepherd your little ones, and to watch them grow, change and become the INDIVIDUALS that God intends for them to be.
(And, sometimes, I can actually believe this after I come down from an embarrassment episode!)
My 2 little girls are complete opposites! It's amazing.
As for embarassment, I clutch fiercely to a quote from John Rosemond (parenting guru). Paraphrased..."if God who is perfect did not have perfect children, what makes you think that you can?" Adam & Eve sinned. Jonas & Bramwell will too. And like God, your job is to disciple them, giving them punishment when necessary, but always loving them with grace & mercy.
I JUST had a very long conversation about this very thing tonight. HOW can they be so different??? And HOW do we steer them toward positive things when they struggle with hearing us and listening and obeying? It's so hard.
Just knowing their differences is GOOD, being aware.
In short, I HEAR YOU :)
My 2 boys are 5 years apart and although they are different...it isn't very much.
However, look at Chatty Kelly and I!
Day and night.
Don't feel embarrassed to go back to that place. I bet those other mommies were just happy it wasn't their kids misbehaving at that moment. But they all do misbehave at some point.
Somehow I have a feeling you are doing an outstanding job at raising your boys...and in a foreign country at that!!
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