After SB (small boy) turned three, I thought the worst was over. Everyone talked about the Terrible Twos, and we survived – relatively intact except for a few nervous tics and a constant state of exhaustion. All done, onward and upward, right?
Except life, as we all know it, is cruel at times. SB’s only been three for a couple of weeks, so it’s early days, but WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED???
Where’d my sweet, affectionate boy go? SB used to be a world champion snuggler. Now? “DON’T touch me”. Huh? Are girls already gross? But I’m the mama! He has years to go before he finds me loathsome…right?
And the temper management issues? (Formerly known as tantrums but I’m sick of that word) It used to be, in the good old days of two weeks ago, that we pretty much knew what would set him off. The dreaded hair washing nights, turning off the TV before Curious George was over, the horror of a lost toy, stuff like that. Now it’s like living with a teenage girl – the drama, screaming, crying – and he’s only three. And a boy.
No one’s safe from the wrath of SB. Our sweet dog, who’s loved him since I was pregnant, has now wisely found a good spot under the kitchen table where the drama king can’t reach him. Our poor cats haven’t come out of hiding since 2011, and when I do see them they look at me with utter disdain, “Oh, you brought that loud thing home AGAIN?”
One of my friends on Facebook just posted that she enjoys her dog’s company more than her 15 year-old son sometimes. When I was done laughing, I realized that I have 12 more years to go before SB becomes someone who I might prefer my dog over. Then I realized that it’s already happening.
So help me out here…does it get better? Worse? Am I going to have to join the Witness Protection Program when he turns four? Fill me in please!!!
Amused Mama 
Didn’t I warn you about the Terroristic Threes? Of my first 5, only my oldest (now 30) didn’t go through the typical twos and threes (my wife is a saint, by the way). Now when he visits, he brings a 6 y.o., 21 month and 4 month old with him, add that to our three y.o. and we start having flashbacks. We threatened our 23 y.o. that is stationed in NY that we were sending our 3 y.o. to his place for the summer next year, he said he’d rather be deployed again. But we know ‘this to shall pass’ and sitting on the couch, holding a baby with 3 other young ones cuddling with me watching Sofia the First on Disney Jr. while everyone else slept in was almost worth the the noise later. MJ
Love it! Thanks for the shout out, chica. We didn’t go thru too much of the drama king, tantrum throwing terrible twos/threes, but you certainly have my sympathy. Now I’m dealing with the generally surly, uncooperative, world-revolves-around-me teenager. I spend a lot of time in hiding with the dog.