....by ranting to you all, but, hey, it's worth it! Oh, I swear, I just about lost it today. My partner and I visit teach a sister who is just massively, massively precious about her child. Combine that with my partner's preciousness and it gets to be TOO MUCH. The sister wanted to meet at the Locks (a beautiful park and water area) for our visit but only if the weather man on the morning of our appointment said that it wasn't supposed to rain. So we had a back-up plan of going to her house instead. Ok, wake up this morning and it is gorgeous. No clouds in the sky. But not too hot either. Beautiful day for the park. My partner is concerned about the fact that the parking at the Locks is now paid parking (but it can't be much--this is Ballard for heaven's sake! And I would pay for parking because I am just so sick about being precious with paying for parking. They may be pinching their pennies but enough. They make a lot more than we do. But I digress.) but she's willing to go because that's where the sister wants to go.

So I call the sister to double check and she hems and haws because even though it definitely won't be raining (her usual reason for not doing something is that it might sprinkle. Goodness. You live in Seattle. No wonder you don't get out much!) and it isn't windy (another of her favorite reasons though it rarely is all that windy here) and it isn't hot and the dew has burned off.....but THE GRASS IN THE SHADE MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY DAMP. Yes. So I offered to come to her house instead or we could meet at the park by the Community Center or we could go to the playroom in the Community Center or we could fall back to my house if for any reason the park didn't work out. Much hemming and hawing. Finally she decides that the park would be the best option because she thinks her little girl will enjoy the sand. So I call back my partner, thinking she'll be happy that we don't have to pay for parking....nope. She's unhappy because of the sand! But she's willing to do it because it's what the sister wanted.

So we meet at the park. Emily Lara is running around, enjoying herself as she usually does (she loves to let her stuffed bunny slide on the slide, swing on the swings, and ride the merry go round. It's darn cute.). My partner's little boy sits on her lap the entire time with a terrified look on his face and the sister is reluctant to let her little girl down because....SHE MIGHT RUN OFF AND PLAY (this is a teeny tiny park area that is very enclosed and you can see your child at any point, no matter where they are in the playground). So they sit on the bench with their children, having a very intense and serious discussion about whether or not they should sit in the shade or the sun while I stand halfway between them and whatever Emily Lara is doing. After a little while they're actually talking about maybe gathering up and going to the sister's house after all! I mean, it would take 15 minutes to walk home and get my car seat and 20 minutes to get to this sister's house after that. You have got to be kidding me. All because we're too precious to play in the park on a gorgeous day???????? And for some reason going into the community center or going back to my house (which has a large play area as well as the dog that all three kids adore) doesn't sound good to them.

Now I realize that I have a short fuse today, but, seriously, could two people be more precious? And I know I should be more understanding of a kid. I mean, he's just a kid. But my partner's little boy used to totally love me and now that his mom is about to have another baby he has turned PAINFULLY shy....to the point where when he sees me he backs away, terrified, saying, "No,no,no." What did I ever do to this kid? And he's always been empathetic when Emily Lara cries (they've been friends their whole 2 yrs on the planet) but now if she even makes a noise of displeasure of any sort (tears or no) he MELTS DOWN. Seriously. Gulping sobs. And it is making me so insane. I can only imagine how it must drive my partner crazy.

And, yes, the dog is barking like crazy today. My FIL's wife tried to get out of paying me for the doll she commissioned ($50 worth of income!!!). And the sad little girl can't bring herself to nap.

GRRRR!

Marianne
PS We have one more VT visit tonight...after I get two fillings done. It was the only time this sister could have us come and she hasn't let us come for months AND she's due to have her baby anytime in the next 11 days so it was now or never. Is it just me or is Satan working overtime today?????

OMGosh!! Hun.. I am soooo sorry for you! Don't cha just wanna scream?!

I am a very impatient person, and if I had been in your shoes...well, I may have ended up saying something I would have regretted. Kudos to you for holding your tounge.

Now..about your sister...has something happened to her, or her little boy moreso, that has made him all of a sudden a little (dare I say it..) wienie? Or has she always been this way , and it's him that may be going thru a phase?

Either way I'm so sorry you had to go thru this today. I feel your pain. Prayers to you and the girl that she will nap. {{{{hugs}}}}

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Wow, that is tough. Kudos to you for sticking it out!!

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~*~ Katie ~*~






http://thewanfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/

Geez- you are very accomodating and have been very patient. We dont ask where to meet..we simply say "we can come these days at these times- what works best for you?" and we go to her house. Short & simple.

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Mom to twins- VERONICA & LUKA Shayla, Jaron and Sabrina

Nope, my partner, who I do love dearly, has been systematically wienie-ifying the boy for the past two years. She's convinced he's afraid of everything and now, because she's always hypersensitive to the fact that he might be afraid of something...well, he is afraid of everything. And the stress of the new baby coming is just making it 200% worse. He was actually happily playing in the sand with Emily Lara until his mom getting after him about the sand sent him, terrified, to her lap. Or maybe it was my presence!

Actually, I think the negative reaction to me is because he often comes over to my house to be babysat (ie when my friend has a doctor's appointment, and we also have a temple babysitting swap) and now that he is so so so SO mommy-needy he just can't stand the thought of being left with anyone (and I embody all of those anyones, I guess!).

Yes, we ought to have a great controversial discussion about raising boys. Here in Seattle there is quite the movement to turn boys into little girls. This particular boy, against the wishes of his father, got a girly doll and a stroller for Christmas. Now, I know that boys grow up to be daddies and boys can take care of babies too, but, come on. A girly doll and a stroller? Wouldn't a teddy bear and a wagon fill the same need without being so....girly? Is there something wrong with letting boys be boys? That's my grrr about the sand too. It isn't that he freaks out about the sand. He LOVED the sand when we first went to a sand box. She finds it to be a pain and too dirty. And now, because she's always freaking about the sand, he freaks about the sand.

Ok. I'm just going on and on and this isn't terribly productive.

My fillings, by the way, were horrible! Much deeper than they had originally thought and the novacaine started wearing off so I had to stop them to have them give me more!!!!! Not a happy camper. My FIL's wife, though, got the hint from my e-mail response and is sending me a check tomorrow. Phew!

Marianne

Wow... that's a hard day! Maybe that's so few in our ward actually do their VT

I feel sorry for the sister who girlifies her boy. That's very sad, indeed.

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Angela

OMGosh!! Are you kidding??!!! Are they trying to turn him...(uh..well you know where I'm going with this right?! ) And about your filings...oh girl I am sooo sorry!! That happened to me once too, so I feel your pain.. litterally!!

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marianne,
You must be more patient and passive than me! I don't think I could've held my tongue so long, especially about her baby-fying the boy! I guess I'm too blunt and the filter between my brain and mouth a little too short!
I hope life eases up on you some. It's these little things that start piling up and turn into a mountain!
I hope you have a change of heart/attitude soon! I had a day/week like this recently and it ended with me praying for like a day straight for a softening of heart and better attitude and it still only got better after I got a three hour nap!
Hugs!
aNNa

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Actually, as I was giving the VT lesson (once Emily Lara was content to sit on the sidelines for 2 minutes in a row) my heart softened just a teeny bit. Guess that's why I didn't actually explode at the time!

Marianne