Sullivan VS Keller

Announcer: Filling the role of Annie Sullivan today is Nimitz' Lady while JBP protrays Helen Keller.
--------

Today I know how Annie Sullivan must have felt when she told Mrs. Keller Helen had folded her napkin.

If you aren't familiar with the movie or stage play "The Miracle Worker", this announcement comes after a protracted physical battle between the 20-something Sullivan and the 6 year old Helen.

The battle between the two lasted through the morning and into the early afternoon. By the time it was done the dining room was a disaster. But Annie Sullivan had succeeded in her mission to get Helen to eat from her own plate and fold her napkin.

Why this retreat into a historic moment? I recreated it today with my son, JBP.

Things started out well enough. He greeted me with a smile and a hug and was excited that today we would be going to Bible Study. It wasn't until it was time to leave that *the meltdown* began.

I sent him to find his shoes and put them on. He searched the upstairs by standing in the doorway of each room and proclaiming, "They're not in here." So I sent him downstairs to look.

Approximately two seconds later (could be a slight exaggeration, but not much) I heard him playing with the cars he'd planned to take to Bible Study to share with the other boys.

I called him upstairs with the intention of confiscating the cars until he found his shoes. He yelled up, "They're not down here, Stupid!". At which point I confiscated the cars for good.

He started to hoooowwwwllll! His horrendous, you can hear it almost to the Rockies type fake sobbing. I subsequently warned him he was headed for greater trouble. He howled louder. I told him he'd have to go in his socks then and to get to the car, now!

At which point he walked over to the glass coffee table, sat down, grabbed the edge and sobbed, "I'm not going and you can't make me!"

I looked at him, said, "I don't have time for this," pried his hands loose, dragged him away from the table (turning it upside down in the process) and out to the car where I tossed him into his car seat and told him he'd have to sit with me during Bible Study instead of playing with the other kids.

The good news, I didn't break the glass coffee table while doing all this.

He calmed down on the drive to pick up Auntie and to the church. But then things got worse.

He couldn't sit still or be quiet to save any of our lives. I ended up making him sit in my lap. He still couldn't sits still or be quiet. I told him to be quiet.

He started punching and pinching me. So I grabbed each of his little wrists with the opposite hand (so his arms were crossed over his chest). He started kicking me. I wrapped my legs around his. He howled! I told him he'd lost *all* his toys for the rest of today. Then added tomorrow.

We repeated this process several times throughout most of Bible Study. Finally, the last 15 minutes or so, he calmed down and I eventually let him sit at my feet.

He was a little better behaved when we got home (I made him find his shoes before he could have lunch) but remained sullenly defiant, as opposed to openly defiant.

The good news, in an effort to remove his toys from his reach I ended up cleaning out his room this afternoon. It's needed a good cleaning for several weeks now. I tossed three bags full of trash!

The bad news, by the time I got to work I was ready to rip my own hair out by its roots! Partially in frustration at his actions, mostly because I can't figure out what's causing it.

Usually I can figure out the root problem for his trouble behaviors. Once we get that taken care of the behavior almost magically corrects itself.

But this time I can't seem to figure out what's going on. Unless it's just that Der Deutscher and I have been sick for so long and he's tired of waiting for Mama and Dada to pay attention to him again. But that's just not like my little boy.

Tired, Frustrated and Confused...
Nimitz' Lady