Nuts in Nederland

My son, Max, is a strange little guy. He screams about everything. He screams for a certain drink or food, only to change his mind and then yell at you that he wants his original wish. He's fickle. He's tempermental. And he'll drive you nuts.

Thank God I'm taking Zoloft on a daily basis, because otherwise I think I would pull my hair out and run screaming from the house. I'm amazed at my ability to remain calm and reprimand him without pulling his arms out of his sockets.

A lady in the grocery store heard Max screaming one time while I continued doing my shopping totally oblivious of his temper tantrum.

She came up to me and said, "I'm amazed by your calmness."

Yeah, lady, I'm medicated (I wanted to tell her), but I replied with, "What other choice do I have?"

He's not getting his way, and if that means he's going to cry, well then....GO AHEAD AND CRY.

Max has been screaming since birth, I'm used to it. I don't know him any other way. But there comes a point where you don't accept the useless noise and have to discipline him with a time out.

Max is daily in time out. And slowly but surely he's improving. But he's still screaming.

When people at work apologize for responding to me in an abrupt manner because they are stressed, I always reply, "You can't upset me. I'm screamed at only a daily basis."