Outlast and Conquer

Mr. Freckle Face himself read the bedtime story tonight.
This he enjoys.

The little guy is making progress

even if we're pulling teeth to get there.

Ah... there isn't a thing wrong with his brain.

It's the attitude that gives us a run for our money.

WOW!

So glad for Friday night.

I'm exhausted.

Yesterday was LONG. The child was as contrary as they come.

He dug in his heels and we accomplished NOTHING

with our lessons and by three o'clock I lost all patience.

By 4 o'clock he decided to humor me a little.

This morning he was back to the manipulation games.

I left him to work it out himself and I went to sit on the couch
away from him to read.

By 9:30 he caved.

And we started trucking

for approximately one hour.
And then we were back to bullheaded stubborn.

He knows what he is doing is wrong.

He knows he is only hurting himself,

but at this point it seems 

impossible to do otherwise.

I asked him what he thought moms were for.

"To make their kids do school".

ha!

I enlightened him as best as I could on the part about
protecting our children

from future suffering

and hunger.

I might have saved my breath.

I felt like this was one of those times when the old adage of 

outlast

outsmart

outwit
was in order.

Stay strong. Stay calm. Stay prayerful. BUT stay the course.

HARD, HARD STUFF.
The crazy thing is he is so smart nothing in this school work  is really difficult for him.
He just can't just do it for the sake of  pride.
It blows our minds to watch him
expend so much energy on trying to engage me in a power struggle.
He will spend an hour writing wrong answers and erasing them
and writing the same wrong answers just because ....
His mouth is actively and constantly pursuing me.
He will even tell me he knows the work,
he just doesn't want to.

I refused to give in and at the end of the two days I know
that he has learned because he just can't help it.
He has a good head on him.
I just wish and pray that some day he will learn with a smile
and because he wants to do what is right
and that he won't be so proud that he can't take it from me.

I am not discouraged, though
I dread more days of this, but I accept the fact that every day
may well be like this for a LONG, LONG time.
Together with God I am confident we will conquer.

****

Missy handled her school week well.
She loves it.
She needed a nap yesterday and today.
Worn out this afternoon she was in no mood to help and to listen to me.
She ended up in a complete meltdown screaming her head off
and beating the walls,
but when I mentioned something about her teacher probably
not wanting to  hear that she was acting like this, she quit.
Just like that.
I know she's exhausted and so she had an early bed.
Obviously, tantrums are not new. They are her specialty.
We have learned to put her in her room and block her out.