Sometimes I’m so smart that I even amaze myself.

We have Z for a month. The husband’s niece J is here to babysit. We proposed this earlier in the year and were soundly rejected by Z’s mom. Then Z’s babysitter needed to have surgery so suddenly it was great idea. Then Z punched her babysitter so she quit early and it is an even better idea.

I predicted that Z would be good for 2 days and then she would have a “Come to Jesus moment”. 46 hours after arrival her meltdown happened. (I’m a bloody genius!)

It started when she wanted to have a KoolAid stand. I said this wasn’t the best idea since our neighborhood is dead on a Tuesday afternoon and there would be no customers. She came back a bit later and said that she could stop cars going by. I said no. She started in on “It isn’t fair.” She likes that statement even though it has never done her a lick of good in any discussion.

She went away and I heard her talking to J upstairs. Then I heard her starting to yell. I went up to intervene in time to see her standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips yelling, “I GET WHAT I WANT!!!!!!” at J.

She made me go Southern. “Oh, honeychile…” I thought in my head. Out loud I said, “Why don’t you go to your room to calm down.” She started yelling about how she didn’t want to – like that mattered at all to me.

I started counting. I have no idea what will happen if I ever get to a high enough number but it scares her and she headed down the hall. Then she stopped, turned around, and kicked the wall repeatedly while looking at me. I think she was trying to get a reaction from me so I just looked at her. She then started punching her fist into her open palm while looking me in the eye like she was threatening to punch me. I said, “Room please” as sweet as anything while in my brain I thought, “Bless her heart…. she is dead.”

The husband and I consider it a matter of time until she seriously attacks either her mother or me. I’m much bigger and stronger than her mother and I live with her father so I think it won’t be me. He takes any threat to me very seriously. I’m thinking I need to start lifting heavier with my upper body so I can throw her if I have to. How’s that for motivation?

She stomped off to her room screaming, “Idiot!!!!!” over and over. I assume that was aimed at me. Then she went in her room and threw things so it sounded like I had caged up a rabid gorilla in there.

Her father had a nice chat with her. There was a line about what gives her the right to disrespect his house, his niece, and his wife which better have been in increasing order of importance or he’s getting a talk. 🙂 Then he said that she had a punishment. She seemed surprised. He asked if she thought it was going to go unpunished and she said yes. He reminded her that she lived with him now and not her mother. She’s been out picking weeds for about an hour.

Hopefully she got it out of her system or it is going to be a long month.