8 Year Olds and Attitudes

Sometimes I feel like my daughter is already a 16 year old or at any of those teen age years where parents don’t know anything. She is only 8 though so I’m not sure where she learned how to talk back to me. She doesn’t do it all of the time and is mostly compliant but there are times when we’ll ask her to do something and she’ll sigh like we’ve just asked her to clean out the garage or something. Then there are the times when we’ll tell her to stop doing something like annoy the dogs and she’ll shrug her shoulders and in a shreaky voice scream “what did I do????”. Let’s see, almost get your cheek ripped off by our psychotic boxer mix!

Then there are the times where you would think she was alaready menstrating because she’ll break down crying over something little like having to re-do a math problem. Gee, maybe the teenage years we’ll be a godsend.

Well, I know it could be worse. I remember one day when I picked her up from daycare and there was another girl around the same age as my daughter that was screaming at the top of her lungs “I hate you daddy!!” I’m relieved that she has not screamed at me in public. I could see myself shrinking down to the size of a pebble if that ever happened. I would then take her home, stuff her in a large cardboard box, and ship her to her dad’s house with a note saying “do not return until 21 years of age”.

All in all, I can’t complain too much because I think 8 year olds are pretty cool. You are able to have conversations that don’t involve the words “put that down!” or “no, no don’t squeeze the kitty”. Well, possibly I could have those types of conversations with my daughter since she adores pets.

A Little Parent Humor

So we all know how it happens, but it almost seems like the stork really did just do a “fly by” and drop off a baby that you are now responsible for raising.   As they grow, you realize they are not as fragile as the raw egg or bag of flour that you were forced to take care of in highschool for some lousy home economic credits.  They are more like little stunt men, doing dive bombs off the couch or tumbling (not gracefully like a slinky) down the stairs.  Yet they still survive, reminding you every day with a screeching cry for a toy or a bonk in the head with the toy they so desperately wanted and are now bored with.  

You’ve got to love parenting though, with it’s many joys and heartaches.  What more could a person ask for?  Since the day your little one joined your household, they suddenly didn’t seem so little.  Family and friends would come to ooh and ahh over the tiny one while not realizing that mom was lying on the couch like a hump of clay completely worn from only minimal hours of sleep for the past two weeks.   To outsiders, your little one seems so sweet lying in her cradle sleeping so peacefully without a care on her mind. 

In reality, your little baby is dreaming of how successful her night was of making mommy completely submissive to all of her needs.  Doing whatever it took to get mommy to come and pay her a little attention.  She wasn’t really hungry or had messed her diaper.  She prefers sleeping during the day and torturing her parents during the night.  That’s more fun and really entertaining for baby.  She had this all planned out with the other babies in the hospital nursery before coming home.  I hear there are competitions to see which baby can be the first to drive their parents to the loony bin.