War of the Wills

It is difficult for me to grasp the fact that something so good can be so irritating.  I am talking about the fact that my kid has one of the strongest wills around.  And it's driving me insane.

I am very proud of my kid, as you know.  He is full-blown toddler these days and is starting to get pretty good at communicating.  He says words like "ball" and "banana" and means it when he wants a ball or banana.  Man, does he mean it.  No reasoning such as "there are no bananas because Mommy has been too lazy to go to the store and the idea of it makes her head hurt" will sway him.  The kid wants a frickin banana.  Now.  And when he doesn't get said banana, he screams.  Awesome.

We all want our kids to be self-sufficient.  We want them to be those kids on the playground who protect the other kids, don't put up with any crap, and are generally kind, sweet and macho.  Even the girls.  But when it comes to interacting with parents, we would prefer they be completely docile.  And just as they are frustrated that they can't fully explain themselves, we are frustrated that they cannot be reasoned with.  Toddlerhood is an awesome grab bag of frustrations.

I have to say, however, it is working wonders on my patience.  Not just with him, but with the world as a whole.  There are even moments where I find a little zen place and couldn't care less that the woman is looking at me like I'm a monster when my child throws something across the store.  Sure, I prefer the "aren't you the perfect boy" comments.  A lot.  I totally love those.  But trying not to let the not-so-perfect-moments bother us is half the battle.  If you have any tips, let me know.  I'd go with booze, but that's too expensive at the moment.  So for now it's all about giving in.

The learning curve for both of us is also very cool, however.  When kids figure something new out, it's as if the entire world has been opened to them (and you).  And it has.  Their expanse of knowledge and wonder has just been multiplied by a power of a million.  And how cool is that?  When was the last time you learned something so awe-inspiring?