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Sunday, April 2, 2006
Small but mighty annoying
Girls, I need some help.
I’m feeling like the meanest mommy in the world because the 4-year-old is driving me NUTS! It’s not the misbehaving, though there’s plenty of that, mostly in the form of whining. We’re used to that.
It’s just normal 4-year-old stuff: the talking. And talking. And talking. And singing. And humming. And questions. And talking. It’s like a constant, irritating buzz at a frequency specially designed to scramble brainwaves.
I can barely dial the phone, let alone drive safely. As a parent you hear about this, but you can’t fully appreciate its impact until you live with it.
Then there’s the Spazz Factor. My thoughtful, calm and focused girl has turned into a whirling dervish of utterly graceless and potentially dangerous physical activity. It’s like someone flipped a switch and unleashed a vast reservoir of uncontrollable energy. The girl knows how to fill a room.
It’s the kind of thing her dad & I would grin smugly at when observed in other, “less mature” children.
Seriously, just about the only time I’m not gritting my teeth is when we’re cuddled in her bed reading stories.
Who’d have thought the communication gap between us would actually grow with her vocabulary? I just don’t want to be one of those “mmm-hmmm” moms.
I guess my question is not whether this is normal preschooler behavior, but if it’s normal for me to be thoroughly irritated by it, to dream of being taken away by Calgon or Jake Gyllenhaal. (I am THRILLED to be back at work!).
I suppose it’s just another learning curve, made steeper with a newborn thrown into the mix.
And as she needs less of me and more of her friends, I guess I feel like I’m losing my little buddy. Hopefully I’ll see her on the other side of the curve.
