Monday, March 1, 2010

Laughter is the Best Medicine


We've had a very difficult week with Mathison. He was extremely ill for several days with sinusitis and bronchitis with fevers between 103 -104 degrees, and once the antibiotics kicked in, he felt just well enough to be ornery, demanding, and very oppositional. The last few days have been full of tantrums, and more than once I've felt my patience wearing awfully thin.

After a particularly intense meltdown, I found myself in danger of "losing it". My frustration must have been obvious, because Mathison took one look at me and pleaded, "Just be happy, Mom."

"I am NOT happy right now," I snapped at him, "I'm mad!"

The look on my son's face was one of extreme surprise. Suddenly, he started laughing as if I'd just told the funniest joke in the world. I started to feel my anger build even more - how dare he think this situation was funny?

"You're not 'Mat'," he laughed, "You're Mom. I'm Mat!"

Oh. Time to try different wording.

"I was feeling angry," I explained.

"Oh," Mathison said between giggles. "But you're not angry anymore, are you?"

Strangely enough, I found that I wasn't :)

5 comments:

Denise said...

I love how our kids can make everything better.

Unknown said...

out of the mouth of babes comes divine truths.....

The Andra Family said...

They sure can leave you laughing or crying with the things they say or do.

Photo Crazy! said...

Jenna does the same things! I tell her I am mad and she says "well I'm not mad and daddy is not mad". They have a way of getting us on their side quickly don't they!

The Jones Fam said...

I'm still laughing from reading your previous post! Wow, I bet that was akward! I hope Mat is feeling better :)