Kids can be embarrassing. That's all there is to it. No matter what you do, or how you do things, at some point, you'll want to pretend that your kid belongs to somebody else. Today was one of those days with Owen.
I had a good friend over, who knows me very well, and is very forgiving. It's a good thing, too. Owen felt the need to lay on his brother, snatch toys from my friend's daughter, and just generally be rotten. My favorite action---pulling a stool out from under my friend's daughter's feet. I was ready to sell him on the street corner for a bottle of Merlot.
It goes back to pride. Owen's behavior, while annoying and not OK, is textbook toddler. They don't like to share, they do like to grab, and they basically act like little cavemen. Well, I choose not to live in a cave, eat leftover saber-tooth tiger or wear a loincloth. I have my pride, meaning that I want Owen to be kind, to be a person that other people enjoy. I want this because I love him, and because he embarrasses the hell out of me.
I'm afraid that if I don't help him shape up and be kind, people will not want to be his friend. Although this arrangement would work out wonderfully for Owen---his toys and his mother all to himself---it is a disservice to him. He needs to learn how to share, how to move beyond his basic caveman tendencies.
My hope for him is that he will be welcomed into other people's caves, be invited to sit, share in some delicious saber-tooth tiger ribs, and play together by the light of the fire. My fear, if he doesn't shape up, is that he will be out in the dark, alone, as the wind howls and the dinosaurs roar.
***PS---I know that early man and dinosaurs were not on the planet at the same time. I just like how it fit into my metaphor. So there.****
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