Ezra Helping Out

Ezra staved off several tantrums of Ethne's today. Spoiling her but saving me from big melt downs at very inconvenient times. He wasn't asked. He just saw a need and he filled it. He was very mature and fatherly in the way he did it and I was very shocked, amazed and grateful for his help.

We were walking home from violin lessons and Ethne was quite tired from not having a nap. We had to be a 1/2 hour early for violin to make up for not being there last week when the kids were all sick. So because we had to leave at 2pm there was no point in giving her a nap that day.

Anyway, she was tired and grouchy and kept insisting she didn't want to hold baby Camilla in the stroller. I didn't have anywhere else to put baby Camilla so I just ignored her whining and continued on to the grocery store. when we got into the store as per usual I gave Enoch a gold coin to use as the "deposit" for a small grocery cart. He pushes the cart and I push the stroller. That is how we work it, and all my kids are familiar with the drill. Ethne however today jumped out of the stroller and tried to also get a cart. Of course she couldn't without a coin and she started ramping up her fit when I told her Enoch already got a cart and we didn't need another. She threw herself on the dirty floor and started having a fit and wiping her beautiful golden hair all across the floor right in the way of the continuous flow of customers hurrying in to make their evening trips for food after work and school.

I weighed my options in my head as I picked her up off the floor. They weren't good. It was a choice between giving her a cart to push and keeping the peace which would also mean growing our entourage from four people, one stroller and one cart to four people one stroller and TWO carts. Or putting the kicking, squirming and screaming child into the pram by force as I buckled her in and tried to calm her and keep her from chucking everything she could get her hands on. Looking at the tiny store packed with professionals in a BIG hurry to get home and start their evening meals, I decided the second option was really the only one feasible at this point. I managed to get her strapped in kicking and screaming and barely missed getting baby Camilla thrown in my face. I picked up baby and said Ethne that's not nice. You're going to hurt poor baby Camilla. I put baby back in her lap and she quickly tried to throw her again. Ezra quickly grabbed baby and sweetly said "Ethne do you want me to hold baby Camilla for you?" She calmed down and said yes and she was happy to have his sympathy which he freely gave :) He was super sweet to her and she to him and she stopped crying altogether :)

Then later on the way home all the kids ate a banana as we walked. I had the pram loaded down in the back with heavy groceries and I wanted to make Ethne walk so I could distribute them evenly and not have such a hard time navigating. But I was too much of a coward to kick her off her throne, so I just fought the stroller instead. When she finished her banana she demanded that I take the peel from her right away which I couldn't do while wrangling the stroller, so I once again ignored her plea knowing that to say no in any form would just send her into hysterics. She started getting upset and Ezra took her banana peel without my asking him too. He once again saw the need and filled it. He was so serious and matter of fact about how he handled her that it made me want to laugh. Instead I just told him he could throw it into the next bin we walked by :) Sweet and helpful Ezra that looks so handsome with his new hair cut I gave him today. Love you son, thanks for being so cute and helpful with your sister today. You were just the sort of little man I needed to help me get home.