Sunny was definitely NOT sunny the other day. She was having black moments throughout the day, characterized by frowns and stomping and backtalk and rude tones of voice. Not a huge deal, but something that I sometimes do not have much patience for, especially since the younger ones are watching and learning from this behavior. Both Sunny and Merry have been going through a phase where they are great most of the time but then we will have a week where every day has black phases and mood swings. I am trying to figure out how to help them turn their attitudes around successfully, to get their hearts right with God and the world, not indulging the behavior or inadvertently rewarding it (with concerned attention) but also not letting it escalate and fill our house with negativity that wears on everyone within hearing range. . . which, since our house is so tiny, means everyone and the neighbors.
Anyway, the other day when Sunny was finally at her breaking point and was arguing with me and yelling and crying because she did not want to stop our afternoon quiet reading time and finish her schoolwork, I got her attention firmly but gently. I told her she was going to write. Sullenly she asked what she was going to write. And I said, a poem. About how you feel right now.
(April is national poetry month, and we have been writing poems, making art to illustrate them, and we are compiling the work into a book to be displayed at the annual Author's Fair this upcoming Sat.)
This is what she wrote (not really a poem, but who cares?):
My Feelings
Right now I am feeling sad. My heart is all a-gloom. Sometimes I am happy, sometimes I am sad. Right now is one of those bad moments: the ones that make you cry. Black and grey and blackish-dark blue: those are the colors of my gloomy thoughts. I feel like a rainy storm at sea: I'm sad and angry at the same time. I want to scream and hit my mom, yet I want to cuddle in her arms.
I don't think I can continue this poem because I am cheering up.
By the time she was finished, she was beaming and so excited she read the whole thing to every person she could corner, including four-year-old Happy. Her favorite part, which she repeated to me several times, was the last part.
I then taught her a new word to go along with her "poem": catharsis.
(Notice all the colons (at least one even used correctly! That's mommy's girl. ; )
On The Road - Oh My!
2 months ago
Awwww. I love this post. What a smart little girl :)
ReplyDeleteShe could probably teach me a lesson or two on the use of colons!!
She's already a good writer- colorful descriptions, clearly expressing herself and a nice flow. I think a journal would be a good idea for puberty. Not to scare you, but that kind of moodiness goes along with adolescent development. Both of my girls started their cycles early (right around 11) so while your healthy diet will work in your favor in delaying development (levels of fat in diet have been shown to affect hormones), genetics may be working against you.
ReplyDeleteJust keep repeating, "this too shall pass"!
Her writing skills seem very advanced -- wonderful descriptions. I have been thinking about her having these times regularly and wonder if it could be an allergy problem. Is she still having the migrains? Love you all.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I remember you telling me about Emily's journal--does Sarah have one too? Yes, I think that is a great idea and it would clearly be a good thing for my word-processor child!
ReplyDeleteMom, any kid who is a voracious reader tends to be a good writer, I think. I just love how old-fashioned her phrasing is at times--from the vintage books she reads. (I'll be posting some of the girls' poetry soon, what they wrote for the Author's Fair we just went to yesterday--she wrote an entire poem around the word "gay" and I SO had to bite my tongue!)
She has not had one of her "eye sick" days for a while, but often it will be 4 months or so between. I should start writing them down on the calendar. . .