Parents always want to make their kids happy...we like to see their little faces light up with joy... 
...and, I'll admit it, we like the fact that when the kid is happy, we can sit on the couch and catch our breath.
...and, I'll admit it, we like the fact that when the kid is happy, we can sit on the couch and catch our breath.But sometimes no good deed goes unpunished.
The other day I was out shopping, and I hit a couple kids' consignment stores I'd found on Google. At one of them, I saw this:
Perfect! I thought. Anthony LOVES Thomas the Train. He loves his bath. A Thomas the Train bath toy that has Thomas spouting out water and some other train (I refuse to learn all the names even though Thomas has "cool" status in my mind because George Carlin does the voices. Let's just say it's Percy or Gordon) sliding down a track into the tub. It's going to be a HIT!Already picturing my hero's welcome and imagining the sure-to-follow enhancements to my Mother's Day gift, I happily shelled out the somewhat steep $5 (this is second hand, people!) and headed off to suction-cup my little gem to the side of Anthony's bathtub.
And later that night, as I walked upstairs to give him his bath, I silently patted myself on the back, knowing THIS time he wouldn't throw a fit when I made him give up the book he was "reading" before taking the plunge - once he saw Thomas, he'd forget about everything else.
It worked like a charm.
For about 30 seconds.
Then, DISASTER!!!
While Percy/Gordon is a separate piece on this little plastic monster...
...THE train - by which I mean Thomas, of course...
- is not removable. And Anthony? Wanted Thomas to be removable. (This picture makes Tommy Boy look kind of diabolical. GOOD!!) For those uninitiated to the way of the toddler, I'm just going to go ahead and make it clear that there is NO WAY to calmly and logically explain to a 2-year-old that he can't have Thomas because Thomas simply isn't detachable, he's part of the toy. Somewhere between "can't have" and "detachable" the toddler loses interest and becomes unable to understand.
OK, actually it just happens after "can't have."
Anyway, LONG story short, my best intentions were undermined. Anthony was going CRAZY about the fact that he couldn't have Thomas. The screams were deafening. The heartbreak was palpable. I'm pretty sure he was saying some of the seven words you can't say on television.
This isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I'm just going to go with the idea that it's the thought that counts.
And I should still get points toward that Mother's Day gift, right?
4 comments:
How did Anthony even learn any of those seven infamous words? I know his mother wouldn't utter them around her son...
I think this falls into the same category of me buying foil-covered choclates in the shapes of cars for Anthony for Easter--sounds great in theory, except as soon as you take the foil off and the chocolate melts, it's not a car anymore....I can see how it must be frustrating to him! Of course he wanted Thomas and was probably SO mad that Thomas couldn't come free. I can just picture the scene! Well, live and learn, right? LOL
P.S. I DO know how to spell chocolates, that was a typo!
It wasn't the first time and I am sure it won't be the last. Sure would be nice if we could get into their little heads to see how they think so you could avoid such conflicts. Maybe he will get used to it yet. You can always hope. It probably won't be the only thing you will bomb out on either. But you are right. It's the thought that counts and one day he will realize that too. Might be a while away, but eventually. You are a good Mom. Happy Mother's Day next Sunday. Love you all. Shirley
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