Bad Days

A picture from a good day which Ruth emailed to me.



Yesterday Megan was over and Luke was Mr. Grumpy and Megan said, "I'm glad to know you have bad days too, because sometimes your life seems idyllic"...or something to that effect. I was surprised, but reminded of my sister Melissa saying something very similar not all that long ago. Since two people have said it so close together I began to wonder if I'm misrepresenting our lives here in this blog. To set the record straight: we have bad days too.

Although Luke is honest-to-goodness one of the most good natured people I know, there are days when everything seems to tick him off. Luke has a grumpy face, and can throw a dirty look with the best of them. When he's tired he will often throw whatever is in his hand at the moment and lately he has tried hitting me when he's angry. Obviously that does not go over well. Luke gets a time out in his crib when something is thrown or when he hits. He spends two minutes in his crib crying, and when he is rescued he often needs a few minutes alone to de-angrify and then he wants to cuddle up and apologize.

Most of the time Luke is easy-going and cheerful, but when a tooth is coming in or when naptime isn't sufficient, days can be very long and bleak. Luke has a dramatic tendency (where does he get that I wonder?) to throw his face down on the floor with his bum in the air and cry a long shaky sob with his lip hanging down if life just seems too hard.

Sometimes I want to do the same thing when Luke is crying. Sometimes when I get very upset I put Luke in his crib and I go sit on the deck or work in the garden where I can't hear him. For the most part our life is cheerful and enjoyable. But just so you know, we have our dark days too.