My Twice Baked Potato

With the first week of summer vacation almost under my belt, I have experienced a few important “Ah Ha” moments that I should have seen coming.

First of all, summer is not like that old Country Time Lemonade commercial. At least not in my house!

So far, my days haven’t been carefree, picnic having, tire swinging, everybody smiling and laughing days.

I’m okay with the absence of washed clothes hanging on the line; that is a summer image that I can live without.

I would agree that we have had our long, slow moments…but not in a good way.  They have been more the overly dramatic, letting everyone know you are bored moments.

I’m thinking, we haven’t yet found our summer mojo.

The second and most important realization that hit me is that emotions and feelings are just as…emotional as any other season of the year.

Take Lego camp for instance, this experience sucks up a great deal of energy.  During this time, he tolerates far more noise than is comfortable. For a highly introverted person, spending any length of time with loud, extroverted boys all sharing their Minecraft quests is tiring.  Not to mention, filtering out all the noise and kids to focus on the instructor’s directions.

When he is done with Lego camp, the raw emotions are almost immediate.  His overly stimulated body is now on high alert and he begins to throw all of his feelings at me.

I know why.

I’m an adult, I can take it…usually.

His feelings continue to bounce all over during the car ride and he needs a few minutes at home, before my voice is welcomed.

Later, we can talk about all the feelings and why they were bubbling so very close to the surface.

In the heated moments, he doesn’t get it and denies that his sensitivities have anything to do with his frustration about the barking dogs, the video game loss, the hang nail, or the disappointment that his online friend has other friends or a life outside of their Minecraft gaming.

Feelings…

They can be amazing and terrifying and at my house, they are always changing.

How do you help a child understand all the varying feelings of his day?