I don’t really like to yell. Especially not while my throat is still sore – like right now. But sometimes Leilani does not move on otherwise…
Yesterday was story time at the library at 7 pm. In order to give the kids an incentive to get there on time, they get extra cute name labels if they are there ahead of time,. In the beginning Leilani wouldn’t take no for an answer – when we got there late she marched up to the already reading librarian and demanded her name tag. By now she is just very upset if she doesn’t get it – so she gets one at the end.
So I try pretty hard to get her there on time – yesterday I started at 6:40 (it’s a 3 minute drive, 10 minute walk) – Leilani had to finish playing. At 6:45 I draged her into the living room, told her we were in a hurry and put her shoes in front of her and started to get dressed myself. Leilani grabbed her chair(!!) and ran into the kitchen. I went after her, put the first shoe on and told her again, that we’d be late otherwise and she would not get a name tag. I turned around to get her coat and she took off again. At this point I started yelling at her. Loudly. She looked at me sadly with a trembling lower lip and said: “Mommy, Mommy (for once not Sonja like she usually calls me) could you please …[sob]… yell at me a little more quiet”.
I had to laugh, and she was really proud, and we did make it on time – Leilani was the last kid to arrive, just when the librarian picked up the book, but she was nice enough (and knows Leilani’s attachment to the labels well enough by now) to put if back down and write her name tag.