Oh, So-oo-o Particular!

Michael 3 1/2 yrs

Michael is a particular boy. He knows what and how he wants things and things should be exactly right and according to his specifications! These specifications, I can't always figure out right away, or sometimes at all. When he was an infant he used to cry and cry in the evening. Nothing I did would soothe him. He was mad as hell because something was just not right and he wasn't going to accept it. He let us know, loud and clear it was UNacceptable.

Michael has always loved shoes. It began as a baby, eying everyone's footwear and as a little toddler balancing in everyone else's shoes. Visitors marveled as he easily balanced in their loafers, big, clunky boots or skinny high heals. He was a balancing pro! Everywhere he went he would steal shoes, big or small. This started a few fights with other children. For his 2nd Birthday Michael got a pair of gray shoes with blue ties from a friend. No other present really mattered after that, he was smitten and wanted to try them on immediately. When he was about 2 1/2 years old Michael decided that shoes with ties should be tucked inside and out of sight. If he saw a tie peeking out from beneath his pant leg he would stop and scream in frustration, sometimes even fall to the ground flailing in tantrum. Nothing I or his father said could change his mind that laces should be tucked and should never slip out. Needless to say when he grew out of them we decided that tie shoes were not for Michael.

When Michael puts on a button down shirt or a coat, all buttons, need to be buttoned and all zippers, zipped to the top! If a pocket button is undone it's likely the screaming will ensue. This I don't understand! Michael has always been a very verbal child. When he gets frustrated though, the part of his brain that controls language becomes temporarily inactive. My pleas of "Use words Michael", never seem to help. I've learned super Mommy mind powers to cope. Reading his mind or at least trying to anticipate helps.

I can't worry about these things too much. My Mom has told me that when I was a toddler if I got my hands dirty I would start crying. Even as an artist, to this day I don't like having my hands dirty and have a habit of washing my hands more often than is necessary. When Michael screams for a kitchen towel at lunch time because his hands are all peanut butter, I know exactly where he gets it. Luckily, he also inherited my husbands humor and tendency towards silliness.