Rowdy and Painful, as Predicted

We had about 2 weeks of decent mood from the oldest child and clearly that couldn't be expected to continue. Today has been complaint after complaint and nothing much has gotten accomplished thus far.

Since this unwillingness to get to work is a new state of affairs around here (new being a relative term which in this case means less than 6 months old) I'm sort of flummoxed by it. I'm not interested in provoking meltdowns but at the same time I am definitely interested in seeing some progress made.

Writing is a huge issue here for both boys. Neither would willingly put pen to paper to so much as sketch a picture until fairly recently when the older child began drawing some sort of cartoons. I was thrilled to see he was drawing, though slightly bothered that the subject matter was typically macho- knights and weaponry and the like. Given my proclivity to over reaction, I decided to step back and examine the situation before freaking out about the gory scenes. I decided in the end not to even worry about it, despite the fact that this kid has some depression going on. He also has a passion for fantasy reading material and likely that is the source for these imaginings, not his wounded (by me) psyche.

Upstairs right now the non starter should be writing some classified ads selling things like a rocket ship, his sister or a royal crown. I could write my own classified.

For Sale- one slightly used 10 yo boy. Sturdy. Talkative. Imaginative. Excellent memory and quick recall. Willing to work in return for beef jerky and access to LOL Cats.

That willing to work part may not be accurate but what can I say? never trust a salesman.