Saturday, November 10, 2007

Angel--Off to Japan

As out of the blue as could possibly be, Angel looked up at me with her big brown eyes and questioned, "Mom? Can I move to Japan?"

I have no idea where she pulled this from, but she has no idea how much I would have loved to buy her a one way plane ticket, pack her bags, and deliver her to the airport, on the soonest flight out, TONIGHT!

Because of Angel's lack of self control when she is angry, Mark and I experienced one of our most embarrassing moments to date, as parents. We pride ourselves on having well-behaved children when we are out in public. We are constantly reminding them to reply to others greetings, offer a hand when someone offers theirs, and remember to say "please" and "thank you" when necessary. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time, our children are able to pull it all off and we are complimented on our well-mannered rug-rats. Unfortunately, today was a different story.

It all started when a boy fell out of a bounce house, smack dab on top of Angel's head, while we were at a Pirate birthday party this afternoon. One would have thought that he was carrying a sword by the shrill shriek that she let out. He was much heavier than her, but those who know Angel are well aware of the fact that she was much more upset by the fact that someone invaded her personal space, than the bodily harm that it actually caused. Her fit escalated, causing her to begin heaving, inviting more attention her way. Even hiding her behind the nearby jacuzzi didn't stop her screams from permeating the party.

As if fit number one wasn't bad enough, she had to follow it closely with fit number two. Or maybe it was fit number three or four....I honestly lost track. How dare someone pass out cake to Bella and to Annie, and pause the passing for a short while before Angel got hers. It caused her much distress, and I'm convinced she was taken over by an alien from outer space, because her screams came out saying, "I want my cake, NOW!" In all four years that I have known my child, I have never heard her speak in such a gross manner. I honestly wanted to crawl in a hole, right after burying her in a deeper one! Graciously, the host tried to appease her with a fork and an invitation to dig into a community cake which all the kids were eating, but my Princess wanted her cake on her own plate. I guess she doesn't mix with pirates! Embarrassed beyond belief, I sent her to her father, and he calmly seated her back in her spot--behind the jacuzzi.

The act of ignoring only caused her screaming to escalate. Her cries were of mortal distress and soon, everyone began to notice. Her cries began to drown out the pirate music, the shrieks of happiness from the other children, and the loud hum of the adults conversing. I even overheard a few people asking that question you never want to hear as a parent. "Who's crying like that?" That's all it took for Mark to whisk her off to the car for a spanking on the cutest bare butt ever. That was the default punishment due to the fact that the only soap in the host house was Irish Springs, and I'm more comfortable washing mouths with something more mild, like Dove.

Red eyed and sniffling, Angel returned to the party exclaiming that she was done. And done she was, until.....

She realized that her Daddy was eating her cake since she lost the privileged. More crying ensued, which then caused more embarrassment to ensue. Her attention to her devoured cake caused her to miss out on the pinata, which caused more crying to ensue, which in return, caused more embarrassment to ensue.

For a mom and a dad who pride themselves on having well-behaved children, we looked at each other and decided we had made enough of a scene. At the expense of three other children who were having fun, we decided it was time for peace to ensue for the other party-goers, so we packed up our screamin' demon, said our thank-you's and goodbye's, and left the party. I'm hoping the clapping that we heard was for the guest of honor- Jack Sparrow, and not for our exit!

I'm convinced you can understand why I nearly jumped from my spot on the floor to buy a one way plane ticket, pack bags, and load the car when Angel asked me tonight, "Mom? Can I move to Japan?"

2 comments:

The Amazing Trips said...

Oh Terrell - that sounds miserable. I think you did the right thing, every step of the way.

How does she like sushi?? Maybe you should introduce it to her diet and get her ready for living abroad...!

A Perfect Pandemonium said...

Can my son go with her to Japan??

I don't remember exactly how I found your blog, but I have been reading it for a few weeks now and it's great! I don't have triplets, but I have four children who can drive me nuts at times! I just enjoy reading other people's blogs who are truthful, admit that their families aren't perfect.