Gotta love temper tantrums!

At the risk of being negative, once again, and hearing about it, I just have to recount the events of this morning/afternoon with my middle child, D.

We were at Christ Church with Becca & Tammy playing on their indoor playscape that is awesome. It had been a while since D had used the restroom and so I needed him to go. He wasn't excited about it but I truly did not expect him to throw a big fit over it. We get outside the play area and head to the bathroom (with Tammy, Braden & Eli) and D runs away from me. Now, we've had this issue before and he knows that it's not okay to run away from mommy but he kept doing it. I asked him repeatedly to stop running but he just kept going. He knows the consequences for running away - he gets a spanking (no comments please). I took him to a downstairs restroom, carrying him because he's crying, and we go in. He calms down, we talk, he gets a spanking, we hug, and then he starts crying again. I told him that he needed to control himself and stop crying. He continues. We go outside the restroom and once again he runs away from me. NOT COOL.

At this point it's obvious that we just need to leave. I got ahold of him and took him downstairs, throwing a fit and put him in the stroller so I can get O & M. Well, he just starts to lose it. He doesn't want to go home. I end up putting O in the stroller, having M push him while I hold D on the way to the car.

I was already embarrassed that my friends had to see my child throw a temper tantrum and I was getting looks from the other mothers in the play area but it got MUCH worse. D started hitting me, kicking me, scratching me, trying to bite me, etc. It took all I had to get him out to the car. On the way we had to pass a work-out room and a gym where there were guys playing basketball. D's fit was so bad that the guys STOPPED PLAYING BASKETBALL to watch, the guys in the work-out room came OUT OF THE ROOM to watch and it was all I could do to get my child out the door.

Can I be honest and say that it was VERY hard to control my temper and there was nothing I wanted to do more at that moment than to pull that kid's pants down and give him the spanking of a lifetime. Seriously.

I did not do that because regardless of how much he might deserve a spanking, I'm not going to act out of anger and frustration like that. How can I expect my child to learn to control himself if I can't do it myself. So, I held it together.

I finally get the kid buckled in his seat in the car and we head out. He got out of his seat in the car so I had to pull over and buckle him in with the buckle facing backwards.

We got home, he calmed down, I calmed down, we talked about self-control, obeying and making good choices and then he got a spanking. I made him call Becca & Tammy to apologize because he threw a fit in front of them and that's not okay, and then he went down for a nap. He has also lost his Friday night movie.

This is the second time this week that he's thrown a huge fit out in public and honestly, it's really the second time ever that he's thrown one this big. I remember that Morgan went through a time like this too. I think it's a lot about testing the limits. Yes, the easy thing would be to give in to him so that he would stop throwing a fit but it would be the hard thing in the long run because I'd be raising a spoiled brat. He has to know that he has to obey and control himself and that there are consequences for not doing those things.

This past week has got me thinking though. I don't want to over spiritualize things but my experiences with D this week have given me some insight on my relationship with Christ. God is my Father and He loves me and wants the best for me but He has expectations of me as well - God expects me to obey Him and His word. How often do I choose to disobey time & time again and throw a "fit" when things don't go my way. I know how much it frustrates me when D does not obey me and I've had to stop and think that I must really frustrated God sometimes when I choose to not obey. I must make Him crazy sometimes and yet He still loves me and wants the best for me. As with D, there are always consequences for disobeying, even for me.

I don't know, I can't express what I'm thinking very good today but if you're a parent, stop and think about how your experiences raising your children relate to your walk with the Lord and His role as your heavenly Father. It can be eye-opening.