Tales from the Steppes

2006-02-09

1:23 p.m.
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Ok, so that might have been a bit harsh and judgemental. It is not so much that the child is obnoxious. Not exactly. More that the addition of the child will exacerbate an already irritating situation.

Let's see if I can explain this without being too offensive.

Roadtrips with one of my children can be a lot of fun. Even if they whine, well, it's just one child. Roadtrips with any two of the mongols is also ok. They find a game both can play, they draw, they will even play Gameboy together.

But all three mongols in the back seat is hellish. Think of every obnoxious complaint - from "he's touching me" to "stop laughing at me". I will hear them all over the course of the trip. This is when it is a true joy to be a parent.

Everyone has their ways of dealing with it. My tactics include colorful threats and turning the music up louder. The mongols have responded to my threats by telling me I would go to jail if I actually carried them out. I have a roll of clear duct tape so that cops will not be able to see that I have duct taped my children's mouth shut from any distance. No, I have not actually done so but it does shut them up or at least refocus them from whatever they are bickering about.

So yesterday, the EM did not finish her science fair project, which is what she had to get done in order to go on this trip. She understood the deal and was not too upset. So this would leave me with just the male mongols and substantially less fighting. Oh, there will be some, to be sure, but it will be of a different caliber.

And then I got a call from a friend who needed/wanted a ride for her and her son. Now I am a reasonably friendly kind of person so of course I wanted to help her out and I said they could ride with me. This gets me back to three children, all boys whom I know do not completely get along.

So that is one component of the problem. Another component is that it is always a bit tricky being in an closed situation with someone else and their child. There are as many parenting styles and decisions as there are parents and we all make our own choices about how to deal with issues.

Most of the time, you can walk away from someone who makes decisions that you disagree with or who handles their children in a very different manner. Not true on a roadtrip. Everything is a little more right there in your face and everyone has to cope. It is like going from being friends to roomates. You quickly learn what really annoys you about the other person. Sometimes it works out, sometimes you grit your teeth the whole way.

The final component of the problem is that my dental situation is still not solved and will not be for almost another week. They tried to go in again today but the nerve is still too infected. This constant pain tends to put me in a less than fabulous mood. Well, it is not so much a "bad" mood as a "less tolerant" mood. Want to whine at me? Take a number, go wait in the bar, I'll let you know when it is your turn.

So we'll see how this works out. Since I am driving, it should be better than Twelfth Night.

I swear to God I might be one of the STUPIDEST people on the planet. What did I do? I answered the phone and agreed to do something after taking the current range of drugs I am on. And now my trip to Ymir will be complete - I get to spend the entire weekend with a child even more obnoxious than the YM and MM put together. Just smack me.