The Creature From The Pink Bedroom
Sounds like an ad for an old horror movie, doesn't it? Well, it's not.... it's actually my life as of recently.
Yes, my adorable little angel, the sunshine of my life, has transformed. And there was no Doctor Frankenstein involved here. A few weeks ago, she went to bed as my daughter, and awoke a different person.
Now, before you point the finger at puberty, let me point out that this child is only five going on six years old. It's much too early to be blaming hormones.
Still, it's rare these days to here her speak without a harsh tone dripping with sarcasm. She is constantly biting our heads off, yelling, or crying. If I say anything nice to her brother, or even her dog, she stomps her feet, cries big alligator tears, crosses her arms, and says in defiance, "You just don't love me anymore!!!" or "You love him(her) more than me!!!" or "How come you don't love me?" She hits, punches, kicks, and pushes without a second thought. At times I almost expect her head to start spinning or an alien to pop out of her stomach.
This is the same child whose teachers love her. Her friends' moms say that she is one of the happiest children that they've ever seen. That sounds like the child who moved out of my house a few weeks ago to make room for this recent tenant.
I've tried heart-to-heart talks, discipline, questions, extra attention, one-on-one time with just me and her, ignoring her bad attitude, putting her to bed earlier, screaming, crying, putting her in time-out, putting myself in time-out, and everything else under the sun.
And always, when I think I'm at the end of my rope, I see a glimmer of hope. She'll tiptoe out of her room with a folded up note in her hand, put it in front of me and run off while covering the grin on her face. Opening the note, I'll see that infamous kindergarten-style writing.... "I'm sorry and I love you, Mommy!" My heart melts a little, at least for a few minutes, until the next time she has a temper tantrum over absolutely nothing.
Tomorrow, I think I'll give this monster a suitcase and send her packing, to make room for my sweet little girl to come home again. We all miss her tremendously! Besides, monsters just don't belong in pink bedrooms.
