I Will Catch Your Tears

Maeve had a huge meltdown when we left her friend's house yesterday. I mean, she was screaming and flailing and trying to hit me and it was a no-holds-barred event trying to get her into the car. You'd be surprised how strong an angry, giant four year old can be. But I am a tough momma, so I tackled it with aplomb.

Once we got home and she got into time out, I had to go in and help her stop crying because I could tell she felt out of control. And she, surprisingly, let me cuddle and hold her, which she doesn't usually when she's upset. We talked about what makes angry feelings, and sad ones, and what people do when they feel angry or sad. She apologized to me, and begged me to take her back to her friend's house, which was obviously not going to happen, and that would send her back into another fit of crying. She said it was hard to be calm when her feelings were changing, which I thought was pretty profound for a four year old.

I quoted a wonderful by Eileen Spinelli, When You Are Happy, to her. The words are something like: when you are sad, I will catch all your tears in a blue bowl, and use your tears to water the golden flowers, and they will grow more beautiful. She liked that, and made me wipe her tears into a purple plastic bowl I had handy. (I dutifully "poured" them onto my African violet afterwards).

Finally, she got calmed down, and we got to continue our day. Even though it's rough sometimes, with a little retrospect, I feel lucky to be the one who helps her through these moments. I have a pretty good job.

Chocolate face! Love those chocolate covered banana slices!