Tackle It Tuesday - Kids?

I would love to be able to tell you that I am tackling something great, like organizing my kitchen, but I'm just not. I woke up this morning totally exhausted and feeling like this was going to be one long day. I did get my morning routine done, boxes hauled to the garage (only 6 or so today) and went and got the mail before all hell broke loose around here.

My oldest has developed this really annoying habit of mimicking people and today he made the mistake of doing it to me when I told him to go do something. Let's his say his tone of voice was far from appropriate. He has a very quick temper and when I sent him to his room for doing it, he screamed and threw a fit and ended up getting grounded for tomorrow before he went in there. Then, it was him back and forth out of the room, screaming at me and him getting more days grounding...Can anyone see this coming to a peaceful conclusion that doesn't involve him grounded for the next 10 years? No, me either. Finally, that lightbulb went over my head and I sent Roger out of the room and Ben and I had a little heart to heart. I know that he doesn't really want to be here. He wants to be with his Dad. He's a Daddy's boy, always have been and while he loves me, my house isn't where he wants to be. Maybe a lot of special needs kids do that..form such an intense bond with one parent that they don't want to be apart from them. I don't know. I just know that having your 9 year old tell you that they don't belong with you, they belong with Daddy, hurts.

*sighs* I know that he loves me and that he's just a little boy. In the end, I told him that if not being here is really what he wants I'll call and have his Dad come get him. I won't force him to stay here. I told him how disappointed I was in how he's been treating me and I love him but I won't put up with him being so disrespectful to me. Then, I told him to go have some quiet time on his bed, hugging Grape Ape. Maybe after he takes a nap or at least rests, he'll feel better. That does sometime happen and quite often he will apologize on his own for how he acted. I know that this is hard for him. He's a good kid who's gotten a bit of a hard knock in life.

This wasn't what I had first intended on writing about, but sometimes life gets ya. For the rest of today, I have 4 hours of kgb work and a few odds and ends around the house..I'd love to get a nap in myself but there's no chance of that.