Colliding Head-on

I notice that my last post was about Laila's tantrum that I triumphantly overcame. This next entry is about a tantrum than I did not.

I never saw it coming. Even with that screaming episode in the bath after I took her washcloth and tried to rub her dry. I succeeded in appeasing the storm then and I was unprepared for another onslaught.

The second wave was triggered by her missing Barbie watch. She just NEEDS to wear the Barbiewatch to school today. The Barney or the Simpsons or the Sponge Bob watch wouldn't do. It has to be the Barbie Watch.

And so she started bawling and sobbing inconsolably. And I, toothbrush in hand, just lost it.

'Fine,' I said, 'don't go to school today.'

I expected the reverse psychology to work since it's had a 99 percent success rate in the past.
It didn't.

'Ok,' Baby cat said, wiping her eyes dry and plopping down in front of the TV.

And so I lost it even more.

'No TV today. Nobody turns the TV on,' I declared, stomping outside.

I was still seething as I finished preparing for work. I was angry at her for being so ferocious. I was angry at Ate because she never fixes Laila's things the way she ought. I was angry at myself that I don't have a better Yaya. Oh what I would pay for reliable help!

I was still angry by the time I got to work. And it lingered until noon. I called home to check on Baby Cat but purposely didn't call her to the phone. I just wanted to check how she was and if my No-TV rule was being followed. It was.

By the time I got home that night, Baby Cat was all sweetness.

Today, she went to school without incident.