Louder than thunder

I've gotten really good at ignoring my son when he is throwing a temper tantrum in public. In fact, I've gotten embarrassingly good at it.

We had a fun outing planned yesterday afternoon to the local bowling alley with friends. Ian LOVES to bowl. Actually, he loves the whole experience; from getting bowling shoes to picking out a ball, to cheering on his fellow friends when they take their turn. Everything was going great until Ian realized he took his last turn and it was time to put his crocs on and call it a day. Looking back, I should've given him the "this is your last turn Ian" warning so that he could savor it, rather than hitting him blindsided after the fact. But I was having a great time myself hanging with mommy friends and before you knew it, all 5 kids were at the end of the round. We've gotten to the point where the kids can follow the game by themselves and take turns appropriately. It was super cute how they helped each other get a ball and then gather as a small crowd next to the bowler rooting each other on.

Fortunately our lane was located at the far end of the building and nowhere near the other, more serious bowlers. The guy behind the counter must have seen us coming and knew just where to put us.

When Ian was told it was time to go, he promptly asked if he could play one more time. When I said "no, it is getting late and we need to go", his screaming escalated nicely until he had the attention of everyone in the bowling alley. You know you've got a loud kid on your hands when he can manage to top the noise level above bowling balls rolling down the lanes and hitting pins down. Refusing to give into his demands, Ian kept at it. I was not thrown in the least by his behavior and went about my business gathering our stuff and making our way to the bathroom before getting in the car.

I am sure the reason behind Ian's outburst wasn't because he was dying to stay and bowl some more, but that he was tired. He had a full day at camp and gave up taking an afternoon nap long ago. The more tired he gets, the crankier he is. Anyone can see the writing on the wall that he is worn out and needs some downtime. But when he crashes in his bed by 7:00pm each night, I feel like I've taken one for the team by keeping him entertained for most of the day. I just feel bad for others (especially those without kids) who have to also suffer when Ian gets like this. My fingers are crossed these outbursts get less and less frequent when he realizes he won't get his way. Fortunately we tend to only go to kid friendly environments and lively noise from children is to be expected. Who defines what 'lively' means depends on if you have a headache or not at the time.

The funniest part of our bowling excursion came when one of my mommy friends asked how camp was going for Ian. "10 straight weeks, from 9:30am to 1:30pm, all 5 days a week -- how do you think it is going?" was my reply. Guess who started clapping and had a big smile on her face as I gave my answer? You got it, Sam! Even at just having turned one year old, she gets it.