In the magical thinking of the three-year-old, Ben can cause things to be simply by saying it is so.
"I did too eat my dinner." He can say this with a full plate right in front of him. It baffles me because A. was always pretty reasonable and didn't try to bend time, space and reality to suit his desires.
"But I didn't want to read books before bedtime, I wanted to draw," after, of course, we've read several books and it's time for lights out.
"But I didn't want to eat that, I wanted to eat this," after he's already eaten that.
"I'm sorry! You are not sad anymore!" said to me or A. after he's hit us. If it doesn't work, he tries again, louder, until he's yelling, "I'M SORRY YOU ARE NOT SAD ANYMORE!!!"
I say, "I know you WANT that to be true, but I'm afraid it isn't," which just sends him into panicky desperation. Maybe if he restates his wished-for reality in sobbing whines, it will come true.
It's the ultimate lesson: You can't change the past by wishing it were different. You just have to learn to deal with what's on your plate now. Like cold chicken nuggets.
And that's my happy thought for the day.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The World According to Ben
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5 comments:
Oh, I want to play in a world where I can say so and it is true!
KM
But I WANT to be on Broadway....
Nope, didn't work for me either. Damn.
OMG, I had this EXACT conversation with Little Warrior yesterday! She wanted to know why there wasn't a fire in the fireplace. "Because it's not cold outside." "Yes, it is, Mama, it IS cold outside." "No, it's 85 degrees, it's not cold outside." "Yes, it IS, Mama!!! It's cold outside!"
We then proceeded to have the "just because you say something, doesn't mean it's true," conversation.
A conversation that my mother obviously never had with my brother, the lawyer.
Ha.
Happens here too with Boo. Just minutes ago
'Go to sleep'
'I am asleep'
'You can't be asleep if your eyes are open and I am talking to you'
'I AM ASLEEP'
How can you fight that?
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