Charming

Today was one of those days I wanted to find a rock and hide under it.  With Brooke ya never know what you are gonna get.  A happy child playing quietly, a girl bouncing off the walls with energy, or the one that showed up today.  It started out as soon as she woke up.  I tried to give her a hug and say good morning, her response, "Ouch quit squeezing me so hard!"  She went off and played quietly for a little while, but then came back with tears, "Mama I do not feel good."  I set her up on the couch and helped her to get cozy.  Today was a movie watching day. 

We had a wonderful family come over to bring us freezer meals for when we come home.  As soon as they walked in the door, they were greeted by the charming child on the couch. "What are they doing here?"  Ugh!  I can't make excuses, because if you see Brooke on a good day, she is charming and sweet.  Get her on a bad day, well...she is not.  While the family was here, I tried to keep Brooke from saying anything I would regret or she would regret.  Unfortunately, she kept talking.  When the family left, I tried to explain to Brooke how rude she was.  She just covered her ears and buried her head. 

After resting, she managed to feel better in the afternoon and evening.  But I could tell by her eyes that she still did not feel very well.  Plus her attitude was still quite apparent.  Many parents reading this might have all sorts of wonderful discipline techniques to share with me.  But one thing I can say is this only happens when the girl is in pain.  No she is not perfect other times, but at these times a warning from me is plenty.  I rarely ever have to actually punish her, because she does not like to be in trouble.  The difference is, when she hurts, she does not care if you are angry with her.  She just wants it to be quiet and everyone to leave her alone.  She will tolerate me sitting next to her, but if I talk to much, or even breath to loudly, she covers her ears and cries.  How do you discipline a child when they are hurting that much?  I do my best to wait until I can reason with her and then give the life lesson. 

Unfortunately, it appears sometimes as if I have no control over my daughter.  The truth in the matter is I have no control over her pain.  And neither does she.  She is five and she hurts.  She can't figure out why, and I am sure on some level it is annoying her.  She wants to be playing and laughing but she can't.  At times like these, I want to bury my head.  I have found though I need to be strong and let her work through her pain, however ugly it may look.