Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Choosing to see the good things

Jonathan is my routine child. That is to say, he thrives on routines, even when he doesn't think so. :) It is one of those areas where it is my job to know him better than he knows himself. And this child needs routines. They've been sadly lacking, this past week, and I think that is what is driving a current spate of bad behavior.

I know this. I know that he is on edge, and overwrought, and not yet skilled in how to handle this emotional state inside himself. I know that it is my job to gather his anger and upsetness and help him to calm down without adding to his misery. It is a hard job, and very tiring for mama!

So in the midst of it all, it is so important for me to remember to notice the really, really good things about Jonathan. Like when we went to Target today, and he was patient and didn't whine for the entire "boring part" of the trip. Then we went to the toy section, and he accepted, without complaint, that most of the toys he thought were "so cool" cost more than the amount of money he had in his piggy bank. And when he finally chose how he wanted to spend his money, he purchased inexpensive (yet very fun!) sand/water toys, because he wanted to be able to give one to each of his brothers. I did not suggest this, and his brothers had not asked. He simply has a generous heart, and I love this about him.

3 comments:

Jen said...

What a little lovebug you have!

Mom said...

Glad you have this blog so you can look back and treasure these incredible moments. What a caring, thoughtful little fellow! It took careful training and your example for him to get there. Well done! And good job at stepping back to analyze the situation - his misbehavior. Routine will return! And you'll have a new, beautiful, mold-free kitchen too!

Amber said...

Wow, that's great, good for him!!

I hope you get to return to routines soon... I'm really hoping we'll be able to pick back up in all that next week. I'm sure it will be tough getting back into it at first, but I also know the routines are so worth it.