Walking Away

Wow. I don't know what's up with my boys, but they haven't been sleeping. Skipping naps, taking hours to settle down at night, and frequent middle of the night crying has created "The Crankiest Children on the Planet."

It's also created some parents who have a great desire to walk away. Last night, John finally did! After nearly two hours of Ethan coming out of his room, screaming hysterically when taken back in, and waking up his brother every time, John had enough. (I was spending the entire time working on a form for some government assistance. Swearing under my breath at the audacity of the government to create such a horrid form.) So John grabbed the iPod and walked out.

After 45 minutes or so, he walked back in to see Ethan out of his room again. It was actually kind of funny. Ethan knew how mad his dad was, so he just stood there. John knew he would explode if he opened his mouth, so he just stood there. Finally, John turned around and walked out again. When I called him a while later to tell him that Ethan was finally asleep, he was sitting in a movie theater waiting for the show to start. He'd walked all the way to the theater! (He was smart enough to call a friend for a ride home rather than walking in the middle of the night.)

When the kids woke up early this morning, John got up, fed them breakfast, then let them loose at my sleeping form while he showered and practically ran out the door. To sit at Starbucks and work in peace. So I'm left with the fussing, the crying, the whining, the clinging, the yelling, etc. It's only 9 am and I'm ready to be done. Can I walk away please???

Post Script: It's now 3pm and the day hasn't gone so badly. Both boys napped and they managed to play without fighting or whining most of the time. Plus John is on his way home. I guess I can handle sticking around for a while longer.