So many of you have children and everyone always talks about the "Terrible Two's". Well at our house we really had the "Terrible Three's". I friend at work was talking about a tantrum that her daughter recently had and it made me think back to what can certainly go down in my parenting book as the worst behavior EVER by Sofia. It went a little like this:
Every year (for the most part) we go back to Alabama / Georgia in May and October. When we sent and Sofia was 3 (she is now 5), we flew into Atlanta on a direct flight from Phoenix--long but peaceful and she slept a good portion. We flew during the daytime and had no real problems--but she was tired as we had gotten up early and traveled all day so it was around 5pm when we got to Atlanta airport. She was fussing, whining, complaining about waiting for the bags, etc. etc. and she continued to do so. So I pretty much threatened her!! We are waiting for the bags and it was taking a long time and she just melted down--yelling, crying, lying in the floor at baggage. I told her to get up and she did not. I tried picking her up and she went stiff (you moms know what I am talking about). I finally was able to drag her and our carry on stuff (if you know me you know I always over pack) to the restroom outside of baggage. She managed to wiggle out of my arms and the was yelling, "NO, NO"!!!! I was horrified. She was totally demon-possessed. She was bright red and throwing her arms around--if I tried to pick her up she would just wave around and kick and all the while screaming and crying. I was so scared yet humiliated at the same time. The airport was busy and everyone coming into the bathrooms saw her--laying on the floor right as you enter the bathroom. I finally just sat down and cried. I called Elizabeth to give her an update and then just sat there waiting for it to pass. Finally an Angel, dressed as a Delta flight attendant came in looked at Sofia, look at me and said, "is she 3"? I said yes, and she asked what was going on and what I needed to do. I told her I still had to get my bags and get on the train. So she said, "Well, let's go". She reached down grabbed the now only crying and trying to catch her breath Sofia and started walking towards the luggage area. She waited with us (holding Sofia) while I got our bags. Then she walked to the train entry, bought our tickets and asked for permission to ride the elevators with us and allowed us to take the luggage card through the turn style for the train. By now, we had been in the Atlanta airport for nearly 1 and 1/2 hours. We got on our train and by then, Sofia had finally calmed down enough to sit quietly on the train to Marietta. It took the whole ride for me to calm down as well. I felt like such a failure, but my friend and the Angel who helped us hugged me and said, "it happens to us all" and she is right. You can't blame yourself and you certainly can't blame your "babies" it is just part of growing up.
So, during these busy holiday times when we are rushing around and dragging our kids from one stop to the next, take a moment to breathe and slow down, even if it just a little bit. Trust me, you do not want to spend 1 and 1/2 hours in a public restroom with your child rolling around the floor!
Got a good Terrible Tantrum to share, go ahead and post about it or comment here!
