Demon Possession

95% of the time, Gisèle is a sweetheart.  4% of the time, she exhibits typical defiant-3-year-old tendencies.  The other 1%, she's demon possessed.

This morning was a demon possession morning.

It was the first morning since Nana and Papa left, and she wouldn't get out of bed.  Then she wouldn't choose her outfit.  Then she wouldn't sit up, brush her teeth, go potty, wash her hands, or do any other part of her normal morning routine.  She just cried and yelled and writhed on the floor and said "NO!!!" until we finally had to buckle her, literally kicking and screaming, into her car seat.

(sigh)

These kinds of mornings leave me so emotionally drained that the rest of the day seems to be affected.  I'm tired, cranky, and without any semblance of patience.  I'm left second-guessing myself.  Could I have handled it better?  Is there anything I could have said or done that would have made a difference?  Or would she have been like that no matter how I reacted?

Mornings like this morning are the absolute low points of parenting.  I can't wait until I see her after work today, when I'll be reminded of the high points:  She'll act like nothing ever happened (because it will have been 12 hours ago - that's a lifetime!) and she'll give me a big hug and kiss and tell me about everything she did at school.  She'll ask nicely if she can watch Dora and tell me that she missed me while she snuggles into the couch and absentmindedly sticks her thumb in her mouth.  And I'll kiss the top of her head and thank God that I have all of these moments with her, good or bad.

An oldie but a goodie: