The Wrath of Ellie

Life has been a bit trying here the past couple of days.  Bryan is on his second business trip in two weeks and Ellie hasn't been taking his travel very well.  She misses her dad terribly and it's put her in a mood that isn't exactly pretty.

About forty minutes ago Ellie was a bit angry with Madeline for turning off the Wii after they had finished playing the number of races I told them they could play.  Someone was hoping to get a little extra playtime and wasn't happy when things didn't go according to her plan.  While she was in a bit of a snit, I told her to go to the pantry and get her Clifford readers so she could read to me.  She angrily stormed over to the pantry, took out the box of readers and then started shoving the pantry door in the wrong direction.  Then it happened.  She broke the door off the track and it started to fall on her.

Thanks to my God-given mommy instincts, I was able to dart into the kitchen and catch the door before it could fall on Ellie or cause serious damage to any of the stuff in it's path.  I wondered yesterday what small crisis might befall us while Bryan was gone this time.  I think I got my answer tonight.

I'm actually quite surprised at myself.  Instead of yelling and ranting at Ellie, I held back after the initial "Why did you do this?!"  At first, Ellie claimed she was just trying to close the door, but she didn't protest when I told her what I heard and saw her do.  The truth was it was an angry Ellie hissy fit where she kept shoving the bifold door in the wrong direction.  By the time I was able to yell at her to stop, the door had already begun to come down.

Once I removed the door from the kitchen and relocated it to the living room, I couldn't help but laugh.  I went from feeling very angry, to strangely amused.  I tried my hardest to not let the girls see that I found the situation funny.  I guess part of what I found amusing was the fact that this was something that could be repaired and was not going to be a costly crisis like our normal business trip disasters.  That was followed by what is probably a moment of pride, where I chuckled to myself that this incident wasn't going to be part of my next confession since I handled it pretty well all things considered.  Perhaps, I was wrong since the pride thing is now evident. (I just can't win, can I?)

The best thing of all that came from this situation was Ellie showed remorse and humility when I came back into the family room a few minutes later.  She apologized to me and it was sincere.  This is a child who hardly ever gives a sincere apology. (Bryan would tell you she's her mother's daughter.)  I'm actually stunned that she apologized totally unprompted.

For the next day or so I will not have to deal with the inconvenience of opening and closing the pantry door when I go to get a hand towel or a snack.  Think of all the time I'll be able to save!