My Random Thoughts for Friday

I spent an hour and a half at the pediatricians office this morning waiting for a doctor to look at Ryan's head for all of 5 seconds then proceed to tell me what I already knew and send me out the door with a $50 bill. Do any of you know what it is like to be cooped up in a very small exam room with a (almost) 2 year old for 1 hour? We exhausted all our drinks and snacks in, oh, the first 15 minutes. Then we played with our shoes and bellybuttons for the next 15 minutes. The exam room had 1 book of Bible stories that looked like it had been there since 1975. We did not touch that book. I finally dug superman and batman figures from the bottom of my bag that were covered in crumbs of unknown origin. This entertained for maybe 5 minutes. I finally stood in the hallway until a nice nurse noticed I wasn't moving and announced to her that I had been waiting for exactly 1 hour. She mumbled apologies and said she would find a doctor.

Now, I have a degree in English which landed me a fantastic job in publishing. I was used to handling all kinds of high-maintenance clients. Nowhere in my education or work background did I get preparation for handling a high-energy, dramatic, 2 year old with a mind of his own. I love the saying that parenthood does not come with an instruction manual, because at least once a day I look at Ryan and think "where did you come from and how am I supposed to handle this?"
How do you explain to a 2 year old that we cannot keep going in and out the automatic doors at Target all day long? That no, you cannot eat Kit-Kats for dinner? That you cannot pull your brothers hair constantly? That you cannot brush Greta with the dish brush? That you cannot wear your Crocs to bed with your pajamas? That you cannot shove 3 DVDs into the DVD player. That you cannot go outside barefoot in the morning? That you cannot wear the exact same pair of ball pajamas to bed every night? That you cannot talk on the phone constantly to everyone who calls? That you cannot scream at your brother for simply looking at you? I could go on and on, but I won't.

There are many other moments in my day when Ryan is so sweet it breaks my heart. He puts his little hands on my cheeks and looks me in the eye and says "sweet baby." He tells me he loves me every night when I put him to bed and he snuggles with me every morning when he wakes up. I adore his personality and would not want him any other way. He keeps me laughing and makes me a better mother.