So this morning, the first day after Miku turned 5, I come downstairs as Yuzuru is prepping breakfast and Miku is getting dressed. Miku didn't seem to be in a grouchy mood at all and I reminded her to keep getting dressed (she'd stalled out in the process). I walked into the other room and as I sat down, I caught a glimpse of her sticking her tongue out at Yuzuru, and then she turned and stuck her tongue out at me.
Of course, she was a little bit surprised to find me watching her and the switch on her face showed that she knew she was wrong. I immediately remembered the time Mom caught me flipping Dad off when he'd had me carry those big metal tubs from the garage in Cataldo back to the rental property sheds. I didn't beat Miku like I got beat for that, but she did get in pretty big trouble.
She couldn't explain why she did it, so Yuzuru and I explained to her that she was already in trouble for it, but if she didn't know why she did it, she'd be in more trouble. Lately she's had trouble explaining herself when she does something bad or boneheaded and we're trying to get her to think before acting (a character flaw her father still struggles with regularly).
She understood and explained that she was angry that we'd put her new globe up on a shelf, slightly out of reach. We hadn't done it on purpose; Yuzuru had just moved the globe off the coffee table. So we explained to Miku the importance of using words rather than secretly being angry or sticking out our tongue.
It was strange, though, to see that kind of behavior from her. I'd never seen anything like it at all. The only thing even close also happened recently, at the park.
Miku and Hina were swinging on the swings (only 2 seats on the set) before deciding to harvest acorns nearby. A few minutes later and a brother/sister team came running over for the swings. The brother is maybe 6 or 7 and the sister was probably 3, maybe 4. As soon as Miku saw them running, she got up and dashed to the swings and got on them before the little girl could.
As you would expect, I didn't take kindly to that. I made her give it back and tried to get her to apologize but she wouldn't, at least not audibly. So we had to go home, in big trouble. I think the hardest part for her was the associated embarrassment of having Hina there too. We had to walk by the swings on the way home and I gave her another chance to apologize, which she took, which improved her disciplinary status.
Kids don't stay little forever.
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3 comments:
From Babba Jo via IM:
yes - how wonderful! sticking the tongue out - classic. One can only glimpse into the mind of the 5-year old and this was most comical. I laughed at the thought of her making eye contact with you as she did that - oh by the way - more please on how you "got beat" for flipping your dad off......how old were you?
What about the time you flipped mom off right in front of her so she COULD see it?
I don't remember that but I'm guessing Bloomington apartment?
Do you remember me getting beat for flipping dad off? I need to ask him about it.
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