Hirp'ed

I think we are officially screwed. I knew it would happen, but I figured we had a good 6 or 7 years, and she’d figure it out as a teenager. But the kid is smart, too friggin’ smart. For the past two weeks or so, bedtime has become the battle grounds. With the 6 ½ year old always getting “scared,” so scared that she can’t fall asleep. About 7 months ago, we worked with her, so she could fall asleep without her mom in the room. She did great, with few hiccups along the way.

Then we came back from a weekend in Branson, in which we shared a room with the kid. And since then she has been unable, or unwilling, to fall asleep alone. Coco or I will sit on the floor, and she’ll look over her shoulder every few minutes to make sure we’re still there. She’s a stubborn, determined little booger. Man, I love that about her. Well, 95% of the time anyway.

See, about six weeks ago we had a tornado scare, and to be “truthful G” (as I’m told I need to be) she was a bit scared that night. Hell, I was a little nervous that night. But for the following weeks she was fine at bedtime. Then it started, and it doesn’t seem to stop. She seems to forget about it all day, until we mention bedtime. And she either talks herself into be scared again, or she just flips a switch and turns on the drama. She could be looking at a future Oscar. It isn’t just rainy nights, but she gets scared on picture perfect nights. And there is no calming her and returning to the couch.

And it isn’t that we’re screwed because of the lack of sleep, although it doesn’t help. We’re screwed because she learned, way too early, that we can’t really do a damn thing. We can tell her we’re disappointed, take away toys and prized stuffed animals. But we can’t really do shit. Not just us, but all parents, unless you’re the asshole kind of parents that hit. Once a kid realizes, they can act like shits, doing what they want, and we may yell or get mad, but still love them. That’s when they win, that’s the end game.