This past Sunday (yes I'm talking about Halloween) was pretty busy. Aside from the craziness that is our normal daily life, we were rushing around trying to get things put together in Asher's bedroom. Halloween is also the day before Asher's birthday which adds another layer of excitement and anxiety throughout the house.
We were feeling a bit neglectful since the kids had spent most of the day either in car seats running errands, or else in front of a TV screen so I really wanted to make sure we had enough time to have a smooth, fun, child-focused evening. Elijah finished up the trim/crown moulding project around three and spent some time playing with the kids while I roasted our pumpkin seeds and got dinner ready. I wanted to start trick-or-treating by 6 so that we could be finished by 8 and there'd still be enough Snickers for me to swipe without notice.
I decided to make chicken pot pie. We had leftover rotisserie chicken from the night before and I had a super easy recipe that used frozen veggies and condensed soup. That is so how I cook for my children these days, as much as I'd like to serve locally grown organic foods, I just don't have the time or energy for any recipe that doesn't have "quick and easy" in the title.
We were totally on track and seated for dinner by 5. I am usually a terrible judge when it comes to how long things will take, (yes, even with a timed recipe), so I was pretty pleased that we'd made it to the table with time to spare. I served dinner and everything seemed to be going well. Amelia and Asher were eating quickly and I thought the meal didn't taste half bad even with the heavy handed slip of marjoram.
Suddenly Asher, after eating about half of his meal, declares that the food is disgusting and he cannot eat another bite. I calmly told him that we were not trick-or-treating until his dinner was finished. We don't usually make him eat everything, but he has a tendency to quit dinner early when there is something else he'd rather be doing and then claims starvation an hour or so later. I knew he'd be walking around all night, eating crap, and I really wanted him to have something at least somewhat nutritious to assuage the "all you can eat" parental guilt.
He was adamant. I mean down-right stubborn. We told him there'd be no trick-or-treating, that Amelia would go out without him and he'd have to stay home and hand out candy. We even used the few early kids that came to our door to drive home the point. All to no avail. He would not budge. Unfortunately, he and I have trouble communicating at times and our disagreements tend to escalate fairly quickly. Elijah was upstairs getting Amelia into her costume so I was left to duke it out with the boy.
Needless to say, it did not go well. The evening simply disintegrated before my eyes. He came at me screaming and crying, refusing to eat his meal. He was sent to his room, sent back to the table, but nothing worked, we could not get him to back down. I was so wrapped up in our battle of wills I didn't even stop to think that he is rarely this obstinate.
Elijah finally pulled the mean dad card, got in his face and told him he had 10 seconds to finish those last two bites or his evening was over. Crying, Asher got the first bite down quickly and the second bite into his mouth.
Then, he proceeded to vomit all over himself and the dinner table.
Elijah and I looked at each other, then at Asher, then we all just started laughing. In between snorts and giggles he just keep saying "I told you so, Mom" over and over again.
We had pushed him past his breaking point and he showed his opposition in the most appropriate manner. My son is so creative.
This post is written in response to a prompt from:
