You can’t control how you respond to the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. Someone else might think you are completely over-reacting, but that’s because it’s entirely subjective – it’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened, it’s just the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.
That’s what I try to remind myself when Thea melts down. She’s only almost two years old. Everything bad that happens to her is the worst thing that’s ever happened to her.
With that in mind, here are the worst things that ever happened to Thea, all of which took place on Monday. She responded accordingly to each worst thing.
#1 (7:15 am): I told her I couldn’t put her (large) Dr. Seuss book in my pocket while we walk down the stairs because it won’t fit.
#2 (7:32 am): After spending 15 minutes getting down 13 out of 14 stairs, I declined to acquiesce to her request to go back up the stairs to put said Dr. Seuss book “back”.
#3 (7:50 am): For breakfast each morning, she either wants me to feed her and responds accordingly if I do not immediately pick up her spoon, or she wants to feed herself and responds accordingly if I dare touch her spoon. I guessed wrong today.
#4 (9:20 am): I did not give her back the cloth that she threw on the ground.
#5 (10:01 am): I haven’t the slightest clue what this one was about.
#6 (10:28 am): I only allowed her to wash her hands twice.
#7 (12:30 pm): I didn’t continue reading naptime books to her for eternity.
#8 (3:40 pm): I was unaware that almond butter – a previous favourite – had been demoted to “not peanut butter”, and so I served it with her snack.
There were probably more “worst things”, but that’s everything that I jotted down at the time.
For the record, this isn’t meant to be a “woe is me for having a temperamental toddler” post. I genuinely think many of the things she gets upset about are hilarious, and I think she will someday too, so I figured I’d note a couple to look back on.
The upside to only being two years old is that everything good that happens to you is the best thing that’s ever happened to you, too.
For example, discovering that fridge magnets also stick to the dishwasher:
Or wearing a tutu while chasing around a kitty with a cat toy:
It’s a roller coaster, but it sure as hell is fun!