The Pile I’m Standing In

I contributed another essay to A Wild Ride, a resource blog for parents parenting in challenging circumstances. Here is an excerpt:

Last Spring when Bryan and I were in the car with our two kids – a preschooler and a toddler – a verbal scuffle started in the back seat.

Ruthie (the preschooler): MOM! We’re playing hide and seek, but Thomas won’t stop counting!

We were in the car, and hiding consisted of covering her face with her hands. But still.

Me: Did you ask him to stop?

Ruthie then turns to Thomas and begins screaming at him to stop. I cringed as the echoes of her screams reverberated in my head.

Me: You need to ask him to stop without screaming at him. That’s not okay.

Ruthie, in a horrifically matter-of-fact tone: But mom, I have to scream at him because he’s not stopping.

At which point I smirk quietly to myself as Bryan throws his head back in that deep, bellowing, from-the-gut laugh that I love (but only when it’s not at my expense), and he says, “You are SO BUSTED!”

To read the full story, click here.