Friday, July 1, 2011

The Library

This guy looks pretty sweet, doesn't he?



Well, don't let that cute little face fool you.  This incredibly affectionate and funny little kid can be a monster.

Today I took Murphy and Cooper to the library.  You know, trying to be a good mom, wanting to promote summer reading and learning.  Murphy was fine.  Cooper, however, was not.

Cooper ran around like he had never before seen the light of day.  He stayed in one place all of about 4.5 seconds before moving on to the next thing.  He picked up books from the shelves, studied the cover for a few seconds and then dropped it on the floor so he could move on to the next one.

Before going, I looked up some books I wanted to get for Murphy.  I wanted to get some small chapter books that he could read by himself, and a more difficult one for me to read to him.  So, I had my list and needed to go find them.  This proved to be almost impossible.  I say almost because I think I did actually accomplish my goal (they only had one of the eight books I wrote down), but at the expense of my dignity.

It was all over when Cooper found the computers.

I did my best at trying to distract him with puzzles and books, etc.  I tried to gently ease him away from the computers.  I tried to check out a handful of books as quickly as possible - all while hearing him doing who knows what around the corner.  I'm sure he was jumping on the couches or something.  He was making so much noise that a librarian got up to go see what was going on.

All I remember thinking was "stay calm, you're in a public place."  I honestly did the best I could and our stay was as brief as humanly possible.  And when I tried to get Cooper to leave, he let out the worst, high-pitched, blood curdling scream you've ever heard.  Of course, I hear that scream on a fairly regular basis - more than I'd like to admit.  However, to the untrained ear, it is awfully scary and painful.

HUMILIATING.

I could feel all the stares and I knew that at that very moment, I was being judged.  I hope a few felt pity for me.  Because I sure as hell felt sorry for myself.

At the time I thought I would never take him to the library again.  But, hours later, I'm thinking that maybe the right answer would be to take just Cooper - with no lists of books to look for - and just concentrate on his behavior.  Maybe after a few trips like that, he'll learn how he's supposed to behave.  Hope is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Looking back, I am reminded of a similar experience with him... anyone remember this Gymnastics post?

So, after successfully removing my screaming child from the library (which took super human strength since he's heavy and was completely uncooperative) I drove home more angry than I have been in a long time.  I must have done something pretty bad in a prior life.  When we were home I gave Murphy one of the books.  To which he replied, "No thanks, Mom, I'd rather watch Spongebob."

Nice.

Worth all the humiliation?  No.  Not even close.

At this point, I'm just glad the day is over.  It would have been better if I could have made myself a nice drink after the kids were in bed.  Or immediately after the aforementioned embarrassing event.  But, I'm running 7 miles in the morning.  So, it's off limits until tomorrow.  So, I'll be packing it in the car so I can have some immediately after my run.  Kidding.  Seriously just kidding.  I'll wait till I get home.

Thanks!
~Christy

4 comments:

Just Diane said...

Big hugs. My cortisol is permanently off the charts due to stress! Haha. Only I am not kidding. I feel ya. We have to have at least one child that makes us say "If so and so would have been born first...." That would be my 4th child. He is such a handful and he has no indoor voice. There is not one place that he feels may be off limits to constant play. He is a master at ignoring me. Lucky for me though, he is a tiny one (5yo and 35 lbs) and I can yank a knot in his behind fairly quickly. It is good for at least a minute or 2 of listening.

ANewKindOfPerfect said...

I'm sorry the library was so stressful. I think your idea of taking Cooper on his own, and doing it one on one, might be a good one! I had to laugh at Murphy not wanting to read the book at the end of the day. Go figure. ;)

Grandma said...

Oh..I so understand your pain...He was that way for me when we went to the Children's Museum..thank God for Murphy that day...I was just so afraid of loosing him. I think he just gets so excited and is so overwhelmed by all the stuff.
He is such a happy little boy and just wants to explore...I agree..try a one on one and see if it helps. Good luck.

Susan said...

Those kinds of outings make you never want to leave the house, eh? Hope it goes better next time. My trick, I reserve the books I want and go pick them up when they are ready.

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