Shadow Puppet Storyteller

A star is demanding, and I'm not just the stage mother

I say in my Bio Block that I'm no longer afraid to reveal (heck, I think I say it in my WDC Testimonial too). So, here's two examples (visual examples, even) to support that statement.

What a great smile, huh? That munchkin in the Robin Hood hat is my daughter. She gave her father and I a run for our sanity this evening. She's learned to exert trememdous amounts of pressure on me lately. I almost wrote "control," but my authority hasn't slipped quite that badly yet - just my ability to haul the girl to her bedroom if she's throwing a tantrum. I'm guessing it's been a mistake all along to pick her up from one location to another when the "Time Out" is being called. She realizes I can't pick her up. Secretly, I think Kindergarten gossip and any groupies on the park playground under the age of 7 are swapping parent-foiling stategies.

My spouse and I today dropped any pretense of our conflict resolution skills being the best they could be. This girl was Fighting every request, Questioning every conclusion. This baby is five...what will 15 be like. I can tell you, I'm not just waiting to find out.

There had to be a little self-criticism on our individual propencities for throwing rather ridiculous consequences at her. I tell you, though, she was throwing us curve balls! It wasn't just one thing, it was a cascade of little disappointments that was making her not be able to calm down. I got her attention, but startled her, I think, when I suddenly started writing down every degree of her non-compliance...every "No," every "Please can I...(to something we already established a firm "No" answer to in the momnets before, every threat (yes, it even came down to threats from our 5 year-old). She asked why I was writing down everything. Like any one us, I think she became concerned when considering that her actions were not just to be a drama unfolding for her private audience. I think I finally have an answer to the retorical question I've often thrown her way: "Why are you acting up this way at home? You wouldn't behave like this at school." No, indeed - that would be far too public a place to put on the best performance.

Oh, yes the other
Me singing for an audience, solo (and I got paid) - here's the proof. (The check's already cashed - that is not the proof I mean!)



Today is a Holiday, I am not proofreading this

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