It's Official

I'm the meanest mom ever. At least according to my 5 year old son. That's what he told me this morning. Actually, I think his exact words were, "You're the meanest mom I ever had."

What did I do that was so awful? Like all mean moms, I made my son stand next to me at the bus stop, of course. Now, I don't normally force my kids to stand next to me at the bus stop. This morning my 5 year old wasn't behaving at the bus stop. He pushed another kid. I called his name and he ignored me. So I pulled him aside and he still ignored me. And that earned him some time standing next to me at the bus stop.

He did not like standing next to me. He screamed. He cried. He stomped his feet. He punched me. It brought back fond nightmares memories of when he was two years old. After what seemed like an eternity my 5 year old said, "You're the meanest mom I ever had!" I couldn't help but smile and think to myself, "I'm the only mom you ever had." But it didn't seem like a good time to point that out.

I started thinking that it would be kind of nice if he had a different mother right now so I wouldn't have to deal with this. I wondered if I could sell him to the black market in some far away country where they use child labor. How much do you get for a 5 year old anyway? He's healthy, has some muscle... I wondered if I would get enough for a vacation to... My daydream was interrupted and I was brought back to reality with a loud cry, "I want to leave NOW!" screamed at the top of my 5 year old's lungs. I'm pretty sure he woke up any neighbors who were trying to sleep in this morning.

Eventually he did calm down. He got on the bus and I waved good-bye. Then I went for my usual walk up the hill. Today I didn't stop when I got to the top of the hill. I kept on walking. I walked farther than I ever had. Then I ran back home. I feel better. But I'm still dreading 3:00 when school gets out.