Whoa. Meltdown city. Obviously Eli had a busy day yesterday with school and the Braves game, and today was also busy with the field trip and a baseball game, but holy moly, guacamole was that the meltdown of the century! Let me back up...
Eli had a baseball game at 5:30PM. That means we had to be at the field by 4:45. No worries since I always get the kids up by 4PM anyway. Today, however, Eli actually took a nap. And when I tried to rouse him at 4, he was still dead to the world. He wasn't whiny or complaining, but he was very very sleepy. Finally he rose and had a quick snack before Lehr picked him up and rushed to the game. Maddux and I met the boys at the game somewhere around halfway through. (Keeping Maddux safe at the games is a challenge to say the least. Seriously. If she's not running into the woods, she's climbing the fence. If she's not climbing, she's sitting up on the picnic benches (over concrete). If she's not on the benches, I can't find her. To try and de-stress our lives, we drive separately and one of us attends only half of the full game time, which is always over two hours.)
Eli had a hit when we showed up. The team was down a player, so they borrowed one from another team. The boys were all a little restless in the dugout, climbing the benches and messing around. No biggie since that is usual for them, but it was definitely more than usual. The Knights take the field and Maddie and I cheer Eli on (in left field) from the fence. Three outs and they are back in the dugout. This time, as they enter, Lehr and I both see Eli take a jab at a teammate. Nothing too hard, but out of nowhere and for no real reason.
We both know that some of this is in fun and 'the other kids are doing it', but hitting is in no way allowed in our family. Especially to a teammate, who needs to be able to trust you. Again, we know that Eli is four years old and these are pretty deep life lessons we're forcing on him already, but the way we see it, raise your kids as you expect them to go. So we called him on it. Told him he needed to make it right and apologize. Eli got embarrassed and refused to answer us or apologize. This resulted in me pulling him out of the dugout to have a more serious tete-a-tete. Still no dice, so he had a time out. The whole time this is happening, Eli is getting more and more self-conscious about making eye contact with anyone other than Lehr or I. But he is refusing to acknowledge that he has done anything wrong. And neither Lehr or I have brought up the hitting since the very first exchange...the conversation has now moved on to self-control. Eli is called up to bat and won't go. Now it's about being a team player too. Now the Knights take the field and there is a hole in left because Eli is still having issues.
In the midst of this, I need to take Maddux to the car to change her diaper. Just as we're walking back to the game, Lehr and Eli go to Lehr's car. Apparently Eli became so out of control with his crying that it was distracting to the game and Lehr pulled him. So we had a time out in the car. (We didn't just go home because Eli had actually requested that several times during this tantrum.) At this point, we are expecting Eli to apologize to the coach for not being a team player. The game is over. No chance to go back in, but the coach is still there and we have let Eli know that he needs to make it right with his coach before he plays again. Finally he tells us he's ready and we walk back to the field just as the coach is packing up to leave. As expected, Eli gets shy and scared again and won't do it. The coach gives him a hug, but Eli still won't talk to him. Sigh. I feel his pain, but the hardest lessons to teach are often the most important ones, right?
So before he plays tomorrow, he still needs to apologize. Lehr has had another talk with him since arriving home and Eli has assured us that he will say he is sorry because he really feels sorry. Parenting is hard work!!
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