Mother of the Year Stories: What a Day!

Haircut! Haircut! Who wants a haircut?” I said in singsong fashion. Riley gave me a smile and nodded excitedly. We decided that we would go where his dad went instead of the regular kiddie places. We arrived at the salon, and my husband got his hair cut first. We had difficulty with the last haircut, so we thought Riley would be more comfortable if he saw Dad doing it. When Dad was done, Riley hopped in the chair and the stylist started cutting. Within minutes, he wanted no part of it and started screaming. He insisted on getting out of the chair. Caught in a “What do we do?” moment, we let him out of the chair. He immediately threw himself onto the tile floor covered with leftover hair and threw the biggest tantrum I have ever seen! Of course, this was his first tantrum, so I might be exaggerating a bit. It was painful…he was inconsolable and would NOT get up off the floor for anything. Dad scooped him up, covered completely in hair, and we walked out the door. Immediately, the tantrum was over.
 
To help smooth things over, we took him to Rainforest Cafe. If you’ve never been there, there are animatronic, life-size animals like gorillas, monkeys, snakes, and more. Whenever we passed by, Riley would stop and stare at the animals and beg us to go. As our food arrived, the show started. The mix of lightning and thunder, and the animals moving and making loud noises caused meltdown #2. Riley refused to take one bite. There was no comforting him as he cried hysterically. I left the restaurant and Josh got the food to go. No lunch, half a haircut, and the joy of having the first two tantrums in the same day.

Lisa Jensen is a full-time working mom to son Riley, age 7, and daughter Ruby, age 2. Follow her blog : motheroftheyearawards.blogspot.com