This weekend was lovely: we went to my parents' lake house, and the weather was perfect. But C, who is 19 months old today, seems to be morphing into Dr. Jekyll and Little Miss Hyde. Yes, my friends: I do believe the Terrible Twos may be showing their ugly (albeit very cute) face.
When we got home from the lake, I took C to the grocery store. She suddenly stood up in the cart (even though she was strapped in), and insisted on walking. I was game to try that, but then she suddenly took off, losing a flip-flop and tearing down the aisles, shrieking at the top of her lungs. I tried to wrangle her back into the cart, and all hell broke loose. We are talking yelling, flailing, squirming and generally just causing a ruckus. (And yes, I am talking about C, not me.) On the verge of rage/tears/mortification, I ran down the aisle to check out, with C under one arm like a football. We just barely made it to the car in one piece.
Usually, C is a charming, friendly, happy little girl. But driving home from the store, I suddenly recalled something that had been stuck in the archives of my mind for about two years. When I was about 6 months pregnant, I called a friend to pick her brain about daycare. At the time, her kids were about 20 months and 3 months old, and she said something about Baby #1 that at the time I simply couldn't understand - that at times she really just wanted to drop-kick her. When I heard that, I was beyond horrified. But now: I GET IT. (For the record: neither my friend or I would ever actually drop-kick a child. But the sudden surge of anger that you get when your 25 lb toddler is completely and totally out of control is simply unlike anything I've ever experienced.)
If you have kids, how old were they when the so-called Terrible Twos started? And if by chance you have any suggestions on what you did to help calm them/you down, I beg you: please, please share.
In the meantime, I have rediscovered yoga. Namaste.
