Boing! Boing!

Boing!





Boing!

I recently learned that not only do I have a spirited little boy (see him hovering in mid-air up there?) but I am also "spirited". Yea me! Not as spirited as David, but still spirited. In retrospect, I knew this. That is why David and I (and David and my sister) butt heads so often.

However, an area in which we are very different and causes the biggest conflict is in the psychological type. I am a very social INTROvert and David is a very social EXTROvert. Meaning, we both love a good party but afterwards when I am drained and need a nap or to be alone, David is wired and ready for more. While I like to be in social situations, I need to be alone to recharge. This explains a lot about my family gathering, conference and camping habits. At conferences when I've been around people in sessions for a while, I tend to want to go back to my room to retreat and eat my meals. It DRAINS my energy to socialize even though I enjoy it.

Whereas little David is like a vampire and gets his energy FROM people.

You see where this is going, don't you?

David likes to get up at the butt crack of dawn. And I like to get up early to relish in the peace and enjoy a cup of coffee while I water the lawn or wash the dishes, update my blog, feed the pets... On the weekends I get up before the rest of the family typically so I can have my "me" time. Lately, little David has been trying to intrude on this time of mine (getting up an hour earlier to do so!). He has gotten very crafty inventing reasons to "check in" with me while I am in my sanctuary (aka, the kitchen).

SATURDAY
5am I got up early to wash dishes, do laundry, etc uninterrupted.  David got up seconds later to pee and then I sent him back to bed telling him it was too early to get up.
5:40 He's back up because he has to poop now.  Okee. I take off my dish gloves to help him complete this task (we are teaching him to wipe independently but still) then I shuffle him back to bed. I remind him not to wake up little sister and that I will come get him when it's time to wake up.
6:10 He traipses into kitchen. I am livid but concerned that maybe it's something legit like a belly ache or a badger trapped in his bedroom. What's up? "Um, Mom, I'm skinny." What?  "I'm skinny!" {Are you serious? Get back in bed!!}  [Side note: Maybe the author of Go the F**k to Sleep is the father of a spirited child?]

SUNDAY
Same exact deal 5am up early to pee, up a little later to poop, then up to tell me that "This nap is BO-ring!" I had to ask him to repeat what he said because I could not believe my ears. "This nap is boring!" repeated with a little grimace on his face. {WTF? Get back in bed!}

SUNDAY NIGHT - Daddy has a firm talking to David and lets him know that the morning shenanigans will stop.

MONDAY  - No wakey and no BS. Of course, I stayed in bed until after 6am opting not to get up to TCB so who knows if that was a factor or not. Maybe the shenanigans have worn the boy out?

And in the evening when I get home from work, the LAST thing I want most days is social interaction (unless it involves friends and Swirls). I want peace and to unwind and get dinner on the table.

Sometimes I can barely get started in the kitchen when David comes booming in to asking what we're having for dinner. Sometimes I don't know yet or I'm in the middle of prepping or cleaning and I don't like to be taken off task. I shoo him away to play in his room or the sun room and he's usually not alone but he keeps popping back up into the kitchen with seemingly made up excuses to interrupt me talking to Daddy or stop me from cooking dinner to (drain me of my energy as I'm learning) "check in" and get that energy boost from me! Often he'll try to stick around to "help" me by backseat driving in the kitchen. Oy!

And to keep his energy level high, he needs feedback, loves feedback and can't get enough feedback. Don't I know this! This is what I was referring to when I said I couldn't fill his bucket.

There is no way one parent, especially an introverted parent, can keep up with the interaction needs of an extroverted spirited child. Amen.

I know for sanity's sake I need to have a strategy in place for these near constant interruptions. Or maybe I need to heave some chores on the boy. We'll see. His only real chore outside of fixing his bed and putting toys away is to feed the cats.

Maybe I should train him to wash dishes until we get the dishwasher replaced?