Kangatopia

I ran out of vinegar at work today, so instead of going out and trying to find low calorie fare at one of a handful of fast food joints in the area, I decided to drive home and eat the salad in the comfort of my own rocking chair while watching some silly soap opera on tv. My mom used to watch the ABC soap operas pretty much from about the time of pre-conception of her kids until she died, so I’m kind of familiar with most of the characters and it’s always nice to see the same people playing out the same re-hashed plots. The days of “Luke and Laura” storylines which captivated a nation of enslaved housewives disappeared along with the term, “housewife”, almost a whole generation ago.

So, I ate the salad and had some unsweetened applesauce for dessert. I justified the applesauce because the fresh jalapeno pepper in the salad kind of made my mouth feel icky. Jalapenos and that fresh minty feeling don’t really match up. I even brushed my teeth, and still the pepper lingers.

————————-

Later…

Bear is starting to show signs now of suffering with regard to the divorce. Or maybe he’s just 9 and he behaves like every other 9 year old out there. Tonight, when I picked him up from his grandfather’s house (who had picked him up from school), he screamed at me over and over that he hates me, that I am ruining his life, that I am mean and he is going to call the police because I don’t want him to be happy. This because he wanted to spend the night with his grandfather, but his grandfather needed to rest and so said no.

I really did not know what to do, so I did what seemed like the best idea. I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t threaten to put him out on the side of the road once we were in the car and headed for home. I simply, quietly and calmly told him to pick up his backpack and get in the car (he’d been throwing his backpack around in anger.) As he raged at me in the car, I calmly, quietly and simply explained that his grandfather is tired and his father is working late. (For those of you who don’t know, my ex-husband lives with my father.) I told him that even though he hates me, I love him very much and am trying to take very good care of him. Once we arrived home, I sent him to his room. At dinner he brought me a note of apology, but after dinner I sent him straight back upstairs to get ready for bed and then sent him to bed early. No yelling (from me), no harsh words, just simple directions. Once he was in bed, I talked to him about his apology but I warned him that apologies don’t always make up for hurtful things said in anger. I also talked to him again about why he doesn’t see his dad as much as he would like (not because of the custody agreement so much as his father’s work schedule). I don’t think Bear understands but at least he calmed down and the apology was great.

Did I handle this okay? This was one of those situations where I felt like I had been shoved out of a plane without a parachute and the ground was coming fast.

————————-

Later….

1,000 calories consumed; 2,600 expended.