Like everything in life, there are good and bad sides to parenthood. Your children make you laugh and cry, they fill your heart with pride and they take your breath away.....then there are the times when they make you want to jump on the next plane out of town and never look back. This is exactly how I felt the other night.
Over the course of the last year, we've developed a tradition of meeting my family at Moe's for dinner every Monday night. Bobby was in New York for work, so it was just the boys and I meeting my mom and sisters. We were standing in line, it was crowded, and there was nowhere to sit. Jack was squirming in my arms and Drew started running up and down the line of people, shooting webs pretending to be Spiderman.
First warning: "Drew, stop, please. Come stand next to me."
He proceeded to run up and down.
Second warning (the countdown): "Drew....5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
He started hanging on the metal stand they use to form lines, blatantly ignoring me. I could see people starting to glance out of the corner of their eyes, like they were questioning whether or not I could control my child.
Third warning: "Drew, we're going to leave if you don't listen to me."
Still no response as he ran into people and teased with 2 little girls sitting nearby. I could feel myself starting to get mad.
"Ok, get your coat on, we're leaving." That did it.....he lost it. "Nooooooo!!!!! I'm not leaving. I'm not putting on my coat." He was shouting and I was struggling to keep my cool. These are the moments when you're tyring hard to remember what the parenting books said you should do, but you're drawing a blank. I wanted to stay, but I could hear the little voice in my head telling me if I gave in, it would only happen again....and it would probably be worse.
I grabbed his arm and led him to the car as he tried to escape back inside, crying and refusing to leave. I can only imagine what people around us were thinking. He wouldn't get into the car, he was screaming at me, and poor Jack was just confused. Finally, my newly married sister came outside, took Jack, and watched in horror as I wrapped my arms around Drew and wrangled him into his booster seat. He started flailing around and then he said it....."You're the worst mommy ever! You're not my mommy anymore. I'm going to go get a new mommy who takes me to Moe's every day. I don't love you." I should have been upset, but for some reason I was trying so hard not to laugh. I knew he didn't mean it and he was tired. I simply acted like I didn't even hear him. I looked at my sister and said two words....birth control.
On the way home, I didn't say a word. He calmed down and apologized. "It was all my fault we didn't get to stay at Moe's," he said. "I'm sorry, mommy. Can I watch cartoons?"
Really????
