The Thick of it...

There has been a very popular blog entry going around recently called "The Sweet Spot" - if you haven't had a chance to read it you should. I teared up when I read it, hiding behind my sunglasses staring at my phone. It's beautiful, wonderful and, some place I feel very VERY far away from. Especially these past two weeks.

If you didn't know, Sophia is 3.5. 3.5 going on 4. Or 14. Somedays I can't tell (Most mothers of teenagers tell me it's definitely 4 because she hasn't started to slam doors yet. Sigh...) I've known of the 3.5s grossly outkicking the drama of the "terrible two's" - I'll say for us, the terrible two's weren't really terrible at all. In fact, for the most part, I didn't notice them.

But 3.5. Oh my. It's. Kicking. My. Ass.

Sophia and I have had more knock down, drag out matches in the past two weeks than I think we've had throughout her entire time on earth. Sometimes, starting first thing in the morning. Or, my favorite, right when I walk in the door from work. And then, of course, the "I don't want to go to bed" ones. (I really do understand the "Just go the F*&% to sleep" book now more than ever.)

It's an emotional rollercoaster. In other relationship space in life (boyfriend, sibling, parent, etc.), friends would either a) Run an intervention for you or b) get you a lawyer. But here, all we can do is commiserate about the verbal and emotional wearing down, tactics for survival and, find the occasional joy in sharing the future for happy mothers of newborns. (Who, no doubt, are thinking the same thing as I did when Sophia was 1 - my kid will NEVER act like that. HA..)

My personal favorite was this interaction early one morning last week:
Me: "Sophia - time to go potty - your pee pee needs to go to the pool!" (A tactic we've had to employ up one wake up, otherwise this child will seriously hold her pee from 8pm thru 10am. My bladder hurts thinking about it).
Sophia: "Ok"  - heads to bathroom and stares at the toilet like it's a foreign object, not something she's been intimately connected with for the past year.
Me: "Pull down your undies and pants and hop up"
Sophia: "Mamamama - I CAN'T. It's soooo HAAARD!"
Me: "You can do it. Just hook your thumbs around the fabric and bend down."
Sophia: "It's TOO HARD!!"
Me: "Seriously?"

So...yeah. My other favorite is that "My legs aren't working right. I keep slipping" as she throws her body to the floor. One might appear concerned with this one, except that it mirrors Theo's new walking style.

But we'll get through it. And into the Sweet Spot soon enough. Luckily, I am rewarded with a few of these magic moments:

Hunting for Airplanes in the Rain