Beckett's First Day of Preschool

I should have been focused on Beckett's big day, but here is how our morning began:

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" said Phoebe as she entered the bathroom where I was taking a quick early morning shower, before 7 a.m., after having spent the last 25 minutes removing stains from children's clothing and starting a load of wash.

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" she continued.

"I WAS CALLING AND CALLING FOR YOU IN MY BED AND YOU DIDN'T COME. NOW MY MORNING IS RUINED, AND I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL! WHY DIDN'T YOU COME? I WASN'T READY TO GET UP! I came down here expecting you to be nice to me and now you are being rude." (apparently by being in the shower and not at the ready for her needs)

"Why do you always have to be in the shower in the morning? Why can't you take showers at night like the rest of us? You always take showers in the morning when you should be getting us ready. You could be making me breakfast or making my lunch. I want to stay for lunch today and my lunch is not going to be done," she said less forcefully but no less indignant.

And she continued to hold this attitude for almost an hour until I lost my mind--which was, I think, her goal. Phoebe: 1 or 100? (this isn't her first win to be sure), Mommy: 0

If she had ended her tirade after I apologized for not hearing her and acknowledging that it is frustrating when a morning begins differently from how we expect it to, I would have let it go. If she took a moment to apologize for her tone and anger after I reminded her that I was not the cause of her uncomfortable wake-up, I would have let it go. If she had acknowledged that speaking to me or anyone in such a vitriolic way is never acceptable, I would have let it go, but she was not budging. Now she is grounded from her bike, Barbie house, and friends for the rest of the week. (And she is not staying at school for lunch today)

Is it fair of me to post this story about my less than charming child--probably not. I am also not feeling fair at the moment. We all have bad days and ugly moments that we should be able to get past without having someone throw them back at us at a later date, but I think I need to preserve this for her. I will say, we have had many pleasant days as she is maturing, but we still get moments like these more often than we should.

Poor Beckett just wanted breakfast and some happy attention. I wanted to read him a special book and take pictures, but instead he ate a hasty bowl of cereal as did Phoebe while I fixed her hair. And I hurried them out to the car. Today was picture day for Phoebe. I hope she smiles. She was actually much happier when she went off to school.

After I dropped her off, I remembered about the pictures, so I stopped back home and took pictures of Beckett with his school bag in front of the house, but it wasn't quite the same.

I still have to download the pictures (of both of their first days of school) I'll post them soon.