Connor is my only son and the easy-going one. He was ordinarily such a sweet-natured child that his occasional bad day seemed ten times worse than the girls’ and his infrequent anger outbursts made a bigger impression. Once when he was in kindergarten, he had one of those days. He was being pretty grouchy in the back seat of the van. He started demanding something, I don’t remember what, in a very bratty way and I told him, “no.” All of a sudden, he shouted, “I hate you! The next time you need a can opener, don’t come running to me!” Now, I know that moms are supposed to respect their children’s feelings, but I couldn’t help myself. I started giggling, then laughing, then guffawing over how hilarious the whole thing was. What does that even mean? When did I ever need a can opener from him in the first place? Why did he consider that the ult
imate threat? Too hysterical. Really. The more I laughed, the madder he got and I swear he would have run away forever if he could have figured out how to get past the child locks on the door. What a wild thing! He reminds me of another naughty little boy with a mean mommy having a bad day. Maurice Sendak knew what he was doing when he wrote Where The Wild Things Are. In angry little Max, he tapped into the essence of childhood angst--helplessness, anger, being misunderstood and unappreciated. Let the wild rumpus begin!http://www.amazon.com/Where-Wild-Things-Maurice-Sendak/dp/0060254920
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Sendak
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