Letter: Month Twenty-Nine

Dear E,

I think you’re starting to enter the famed Terrible Twos. Most of the time you’re pretty easy going but you can flip the switch and melt down in a blink. When our wills clash it’s usually because you want/don’t want to eat something I don’t want/want you to eat or you’re wanting to be carried around instead of walking and are clinging to my leg like a barnacle. You’ve also grown quite fond of clutching toys to your chest and shouting, “NO! Mine!” which we’re trying to wean you of.

But most of the time you’re still a joy. You’re a riot and crack us up everyday. You like helping out around the house. You love standing on a chair and helping stir when we’re cooking. You love riding in the car and going to your friends’ houses. You’ll bring me your shoes and look at me hopefully with wide eyes and ask “Li-um’s house?…Peter’s house?…Mee-maw’s house?” It makes me happy that you have so many people in your life that you love and who love you back.

When you test your boundaries it can be frustrating at times but I try to keep things in perspective. My desire is that you grow up to be a loving, well-adjusted person with self-discipline and who handles trials with patience and grace. Thinking of this long-term goal helps me keep my calm when you’ve flung yourself shrieking onto the kitchen floor because I won’t let you eat jelly beans before breakfast. It usually gives me the strength to help you calm down try and behave well.

But sometimes? Every once in a rare while when it’s not even 8 am, you’ve already had three shrieking tantrums and I’m dangerously close to the end of my rope? –You’ll have jelly beans for breakfast.

Love,

Mama