The I Wants

As the day wears down so, too, do one's nerves. This is me having a turn at whining.

Today started out not bad considering Girlchild decided to wake up and sing "Old McDonald" for over an hour in the middle of the night. Nanny arrived and was here so Mommy could do some work, then Mommy took Girlchild for her checkup at the doctor's, where she was well behaved and giggly and all went well. In the afternoon she napped well and Boychild visited the other grandparents, which meant Mommy had some more time to work. I actually crossed some tasks off a list, which is always lovely lovely lovely. Suppertime was the usual hell, so there was nothing unexpected there, but for half an hour before that and for the rest of the evening it seemed everyone under four-feet tall felt compelled to be whiney.

When the children are whiney, my name gets overused. Every sentence begins with "Mom" and contains the words "I want." A request is usually made every 13.2 seconds.

"Mom! I want Goldfish."
"Mom! I want a banana."
"Mom! I want you to change the channel."
"Mom! I want toothbrush!"
"Mom! I want Old McDonald!"
"Mom! I no want dis."
"Mom! I want blankie!"
"Mom! I want walk."
"Mom! I want a shower."
"Mom! I want a bath instead."

It doesn't really matter what they are asking for, it's the repetition and the tone of voice and the general lack of "please" that I find so very grating. I hate ending the day feeling that way - glad they've gone to bed so I don't have to hear "Mom!" anymore. And yet, I bet there are a million women out there who would give anything to hear a child call their name - even a whiney one. I wish I could remember that every time I raise my voice or feel my last nerve fray or respond with a harsh "What!?" or stifle a bad word or two.

Sigh. Perhaps a bowl of chocolate would help.