Blankie Power

Poor Jack had a hard morning.  He woke up upset with Owen for not waiting to walk down together.   By the time we got to Owen’s school, Jack had been frustrated by many things – clothes that were too small, Mama wouldn’t allow him to eat cookies for breakfast, that type of thing… I felt bad for him.  But, no matter how I tried to comfort him, everything seemed too hard for him to deal with without tears and protests.   

We finally made it to Owen’s school and were about to get out, but Jack didn’t want to put socks on, nor did he want to wear boots by themselves (too cold without socks).  He also didn’t want to be carried or to walk with no shoes.  Unfortunately we were out of options as I won’t leave him in the car alone…

So, I carried him to the front of Owen’s school while he announced our arrival by screaming, “You are mean.  Put me down!” (putting him down ended with him standing stubbornly in the middle of the parking lot which doesn’t work either (I know, I am such an unreasonable mom sometimes…))

The director came out and suggested that she could stay outside in the entryway with Jack while I took Owen in.  Jack suddenly felt the need to be very quiet and wanted to be carried  (gotta love the turn-around of 4-year-olds).

By the time we got home, Jack was tired from all of his troubles of the morning.  He had his friend Madigan coming over in a half-hour, and I wanted him to feel better so he could enjoy playing with her.  I put his blanket in the dryer to warm up and cuddled with him for awhile.  He worked wonders – he completely relaxed, rested for 15 or 20 minutes, and was much happier afterwards.  His little sweet self was back with random kisses and smiles.

I guess four-year-olds can wake up on the wrong side of the bed too.  I will have to remember the warm relaxing trick from this morning.  Maybe I will even use it on myself sometime…