Calm before the storm.

I made it to my mom's house. It is so quiet here. I actually slept for 10 hours last night, waking only once when I heard a bunch of kids popping wheelies in their truck outside around 4 a.m. I'm probably going to take a nap later, too - I have a day to catch up on two years of missed sleep and I'm not going to waste it.


Last night was tough. I've been preparing Ragsy for the past week for my absence, mentioning every once in a while that I'd be leaving at the end of the week to visit his Nanima and that he and his Dad would have a boys' weekend together. It apparently didn't sink in until last night that I was actually going somewhere.


Initially, I didn't think he was listening. I remember stupidly calling in the car, "Sweetie, remember mommy's going to visit Nanima today. You and Daddy and going to have so much fun!" At first I just thought he was being difficult when he refused to get out of the car. He hit me and scratched me and tried to put his seatbelt back on and screamed at me to stay in the car. That didn't go over well. Eventually, I ran out of motherly understanding and hauled him inside, flailing and shrieking all the while. Once inside, he continued to scream, throwing himself on the floor.

Finally he stopped and calmed down enough to actually talk to me and play for a few minutes. He asked nicely to watch some Fraggle Rock and I decided that I'd let him have a few minutes before dinner. Big mistake. Once dinner was ready, I gave him warning and after a few minutes, turned off the TV. Another tantrum. He tried to take his plate to the couch and got crumbs and food all over the place, so I told him he'd have to move back to the kitchen. He began to throw food. I bodily took him back to the kitchen, where he threw more food. Dinner was over.

Finally, his dad got home and a few minutes later, the tantrum stopped unless I was in view. He waited until I was watching, then threw himself on the floor in front of me, screaming. This happened about five or six times. After about 20 minutes of this, it was time for me to leave. I tried to say goodbye to him, but he ignored me completely, finally walking away from me, head in the air, as though to make it crystal clear he was ignoring me.

I'm totally going to pay for this little reverie when I get home. But I'll make it worth it.