The Boot

You would think that after almost 16 years of parenting experience, I would know how to diffuse a child that is on the verge of total meltdown. Trust me when I say, I have read the books and dealt with cranky children before, but this time I was a little late in diffusing the outburst. I saw it coming…I know how she gets.  It was Friday and we had a big evening ahead of us.  My five year old daughter had been chattering about the event all week long. She was so excited to celebrate my birthday.

When she and her brother hopped off the school bus that day her first words to me were “What am I going to wear tonight?” None of my responses satisfied her eagerness to dress as fancy as possible.  I explained that she did not have to wear a frilly dress, but she still insisted.  She sashayed out of her bedroom wearing her Christmas dress, carrying her brown boots.  “Katie, those boots don’t match your dress” I told her.  She did not respond and proceeded to pull the boots on over her feet.  The first one went on without a problem but the second one she started having some difficulty with.  I could hear the stress in her strained voice. “This boot is ruining my life” she complained. Did I mention that my daughter is a drama queen?  It had been a long busy week and I could sense that she was exhausted.  Next thing I knew, a brown boot came flying at my face and hit me square in the lip.  Let me preface that she did not throw it at me, she would never do that. However, in her growing frustration, she slammed her foot down and the boot went flying off into the air. Unfortunately, I just happened to be in the line of fire. I yelped in pain and she began to sob uncontrollably. My lip was now bleeding and when she saw the blood it caused her to go nuts. I think it scared her because the sobbing then turned into a death roll on the floor. There she was, totally out of control, rolling in her pretty dress on the floor, saying, “Oh mommy I have ruined your birthday”. I immediately heard the words of my grandmother in my head. “The only thing you can do to calm a tired child is put them to bed.” I got down on the floor with her and hugged her tired body. I reassured her that my lip was ok and that my birthday celebration would still take place. Too bad for us that there was no time for a nap!

My birthday dinner did go on as planned. Shortly after the meltdown, my husband arrived home from work and we loaded up the kids and headed out to the restaurant. Guess who fell asleep on the ride over to the restaurant? Katie slept all the way there and we arrived at dinner with a refreshed and very hungry five year old. A grand time was had by all!