It’s been a tough weekend. I can’t say quite why but emotions have been high and tempers fraying. Linda, a Williams Syndrome adult, has been pushing at boundaries all round and collecting leaflets with a vengeance. I know this sounds trivial but believe me, pausing at every doorway to collect more paper gets to be incredibly annoying. It is piled high on every surface and, if Linda has her way, is kept within arms length. Tottering towers of papers, books and leaflets balance and fall with great regularity in our house.
Today we’ve emptied the recycling bin twice and realised that if the bags don’t immediately make it to then storage spot on the yard then Linda will sneak in to rescue her prized brochures and gift catalogues for one more session strewn across the living room floor.
I suspect parents learn quite quickly that successful parenting is enhanced by choosing your battles. Annoying as a sea of paper is, is it worth creating a scene when we’re all feeling slightly frazzled? Well, the answer to that question depends on how I’m feeling at the time…
The camel’s back broke tonight as Linda was preparing to go to bed. She went around collecting things to take to bed… four newspapers and her iPad.
Beth broke first. “Surely you’re going to bed to sleep, not to read!” She was right but she met predictable resistance from Linda.
“Oh come on, they’re mine.” said Linda (and she was right, they were hers).
“Well choose one newspaper or take your iPad. You can’t possibly read all of those papers.” (And she was right too).
Before you could blink, voices were raised, tempers were lost, enemies were everywhere.
They were both indignant that they were both right and nobody was happy. No evidence of that cocktail party personality here, just a rather low frustration tolerance!
I eventually intervened to allow Linda to take one newspaper and her iPad to bed and in so doing upset both Linda and Beth as they both believed I was taking sides with the other.
What’s a woman to do in the circumstances?!
I’m fed up with being Piggy in the Middle.