Today marked a new chapter in my motherhood. Milestone made me double checked again, just in case I got it wrong seventeen times before. Nope, our medical insurance does not cover therapy.

NO was my sons first word. And has been the most widely used one ever since. But as his vocabulary grew, Little J has been using NO with purpose. He always gives me the courtesy to consider the options. After concluding NO will once again be his answer, he usually backs it up with some arguments. That makes me feel like we at least have a dialog.

But today everything changed. At night he had some bogus monster alert and came to my bed. Because apparently my room is less appealing to monsters, who clearly have a keen eye for interior design. Without going into details I received the first NO in the middle of the night and paid for it dearly. The trend continued throughout the day. Everything was NO. Not the Little J kind but a short, sharp, leave me alone kind of NO. He was moping around all day.

I on the other hand was having one of those can’t be bothered days. I was going for the ‘let him learn on his own’ approach. Which he didn’t and I ended up cleaning a lot as a result. Now I am feeling guilty.

See my son seems to be going through some mad growth spurth. By the looks of it some chemical imbalance is directing him to test boundaries. He gives it his all and in his defense it is very annoying. But I am one of those people who understand. Also I feel proud my boy is growing up to be a three year old teenager. On top of it all, he is very funny when he acts out. I try not to laugh at him. It is very hard. The pout is my favorite.

So you see my lovely child is driving me insane. And I am denying him the educational and emotional experience he is to receive from this. I told you I need help. What kind of irresponsible parent would do such a thing?

Tomorrow I owe him a time out for every bad attitude. I might even throw an “I told you so” or “There is a reason I tell you to do things”. It is the least I can do.