Power Struggles

I never thought parenthood would be easy. Even those asinine parenting advice books that lied about so many things told the truth about the daunting responsibility of parenting a developing human. I did, however, believe that power struggles, arguments, and head-butting was something I wouldn’t have to deal with until Miss Rachael became a terrible teenager.

The Situation: Rachael leaves her toys in every room. There are little plastic things everywhere, and when we ask her to clean, she refuses.
The Breaking Point: I’m getting out of bed at night trying to make my way to the bathroom with one eye open in an attempt not to completely wake up. All of the sudden I feel a pain shoot straight up through my foot. Diego, Dora’s cousin, was dressed in his Dora Magic Castle attire, and lying in wait for my innocent foot to fall on him. Step, step, step, OUCH!
My Response: “Rachael, clean up your toys or Mommy is going to throw them away.”
Her Rebuttal: “Mommy, I want to help throw them away.” She takes the plastic garbage bag and begins loading up the toys on the ground; the very ones that she refused only yesterday to put into the wicker toy basket.
The Finale: The bag of toys is still in the garage. She hasn’t asked about them, so Jeff and I are looking at a different approach for getting her to pick things up. Score one for the kid, for now.

The Situation: Rachael doesn’t want to eat her dinner. I’m a great cook, but instead of enjoying her meal, she will take a few bites and run around the living room.
The Breaking Point: She only weighs 28 lbs. and I’m a Jewish mother. The girl has to start eating, that’s all there is to it.
My Response: I begin fixing the kind of cuisine she appreciates; hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, and whatever happens to be on our plates.
Her Rebuttal: She goes from just eating three bites and running around the living room to eating about five or six bites then running around the living room.
The Finale: Maybe I shouldn’t push. I’ve struggled with weight, and she’ll eat if she’s hungry, so I guess it’s no harm, no foul, right? No score here, it’s a draw.

The Situation: We are in the car and the new Red Hot Chili Pepper’s song, “Snow” comes on.
The Breaking Point: Rachael starts going nuts screaming, “Mommy, Mommy, they singing a song about Diego!”
My Response: “No Honey, they are saying ‘hey oh’, not ‘Diego’.”
Her Rebuttal: “No Mommy, they saying ‘Diego, Diego.’.” Then she begins singing along, and every time Anthony sings ‘hey oh’, Rachael sings along with him with a soulful, ‘Diego.’
The Finale: I just sit in the driver’s seat laughing my ass off. It’s so damn cute. Score one for the Chili Peppers.

The Situation: Rachael wants to choose her own clothing. I’ve presented two options she can choose from, but as time goes on, she wants to choose her own outfit.
The Breaking Point: She walks into the kitchen ready for school wearing her JoJo’s Circus pajama top, purple pants she retrieved from the laundry hamper, pink socks, and her white sandals on the wrong feet.
My Response: “Honey, let’s go upstairs and get something different for you to wear. You can’t wear pajamas to school, your pants are from the dirty laundry, and we don’t wear dirty laundry, and your shoes are nice, but it’s too rainy and cold to wear sandals.”
Her Rebuttal: “No Mommy! This is what I’m wearing!” She then proceeds to stand with her arms crossed and giving me one of those ‘if looks could kill’ faces.
The Finale: I march her raggedy looking ass upstairs, because I’m not one of those perfectionist mommies, but I’m not letting my kid go out looking like a miniature rodeo clown. Score one for good style.

The Situation: Rachael has become quite the music connoisseur. When we are in the car, she will think nothing of telling me to turn the radio station if she does or doesn’t like the song.
The Breaking Point: I flip to the hard rock station. Rachael yells for me to stop, and asks me who is on the radio.
My Response: “It’s a band called Metallica, Sweetie, and the song is called, “Through the Never.” Do you really want to listen to this?
Her Rebuttal: “Yes, Mommy, I really, really like it.”
The Finale: No arguments here. I just drive on with a smile knowing that no matter what comes up in our lives, and how much we butt heads, there will always be a common element we can agree on somewhere along the lines, and thank G-d it’s good music. Score one for Mommy!