It's a good thing that Peyton doesn't cry all that often, because it makes his big sister go completely ballistic. On the rare occasion he does start screaming, she starts yelling at us (in case we couldn't hear him in the first place) "Help him! Mom, Dad, he needs help! You have to take care of him! Peyton is CRYING!!!" Then, she feels so sorry and helpless that she starts tearing up and sniffling for good measure. Within minutes I have two kids bawling. Most often, this happens in the car.
So, today on the way to preschool, Peyton decided he wanted no part of being in the car. I wasn't that worried about letting him cry since preschool is literally in our neighborhood and the whole trip there and home is less than 5 minutes (its still a little too cool in the mornings to walk with Peyton, plus we'd have to be ready like 10 minutes earlier and that will probably never happen). Sam, however, does not like hearing him cry, as previously established. Once she (loudly) informed me that 1) he was crying and 2) she could not reach his binky or his mouth to help out, she asked "could you please help him and make sure he isn't crying?"
I explained that I couldn't reach his binky either, but it was mommy's job to drive safely and keep the car on the road, and that it was okay for babies to cry for a little while sometimes so I could keep us all safe.
Sam seemed less than satisfied with this explanation, but finally she heaved a huge sigh and said "Fine, will you make sure that no monsters get in the car then?"
Sure, kid. You bet. A request I could deliver on! So in the end, Peyton screamed all the way to preschool and all the way home, but guess how many monsters hopped in the car on my watch? ZERO. Nailed it! Finally, I get to feel successful as a parent--I can't take her to Utah every day when she asks, or get her a happy meal after every preschool class, or take her to the pool when its 50 degrees outside, but I can keep our vehicle monster-free.
Feeling victorious.
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