A Rough Day

Uff - today was a rough one. 

While many are having long weeks (already - it's only Tuesday!) because it's the first week back to school (and for some, work) after winter break, that wasn't really our story today. Perhaps it was a contributing factor, but neither of the people who actually had work to do (the work-from-home adult and the remote-learning kindergartener) were what made today especially tough. It was the preschooler, who is likely fighting the structure, and having a lot of feelings about having returned to preschool yesterday for the first time since Halloween.

Because of his dad's and brother's online work, we are needing to be more structured than we have been the last two weeks. And, a temper tantrum cannot happen near their work spaces - it's just too loud. 

So, he and I spent a lot of time working out his emotions in his room today. A number of toys got taken away until tomorrow...and then some until the next day when the brothers orchestrated a jail break for them (and succeeded). Tv is taken away until tomorrow afternoon for both of them as well.

I wondered today if I needed to make a chart to log when each toy and privilege would be returned. At this point I'm keeping track of it, but it wouldn't take too many more to flummox me.

Tonight, as he was falling asleep, David said "It's okay to yell if someone takes your toys, right?" And, I responded that no, that wasn't okay. I said it was okay to yell if you needed to warn someone they were going to get hurt - or if you were trying to get their attention outside. His brain is working - so hard. He's trying to sort out how to deal with these big emotions, and is worried that he's going out to school when no one else is leaving the house. If he has to wear a mask he figures it's not safe.

And frankly, I want to yell if someone takes something from me too.