My "Only" Child

If you've read my last posting "The Temptation of a Summer Free Fall", you'll know that I have 4 kids, three of whom have been away. I've had 6 days alone with my youngest child, Joy, and let me tell you, I haven't felt that name applied to her much of our time together!

We made it to the mall and picked up 2 used XBox game controllers and 2 games from GameStop and mapped out movie times in anticipation of our blissfully exclusive mother/daughter time. I ecstatically plugged our new purchases into the used XBox and was delighted to discover that I wouldn't have to break out the owner's manuals to every piece of electronic equipment I owned to get it to work. Joy and I each familiarized ourselves with the new controllers and launched into the world of XBox. Game Stop didn't have any flying pony, pink bunny games in stock and Joy turned up her nose at the Barbie Island Princess game they did have (hooray!), so we had to make do with Remy, the rat from Ratatouille, and Star Wars Lego. Now, I am a pretty fair gamer having whipped both Joy and AJ at Super Mario Party games on the GameCube system and I am an 16 year veteran of PC computer gaming, so nothing could prepare me for the 'tude my 8 year old began sporting.

Halfway through the Ratatouille game tutorial, I needed to answer the phone. When I returned, I found her deeply engrossed in trying to manuever a cookbook down a treacherous stormflooded creek. I watched her "die" several times and then asked for a turn. After much protesting, she reluctantly "let" me have turn and loudly lamented my incompetence everytime I lost a "lifepoint" and then demanded the controller back after I "died" once. I asked her, if during my absence, it had offered a multi-player option since the game box clearly stated "multi-player option" on the back. "No! Oh Mom, stop talking, you're distracting me!", she wailed while "dying" once again. We continued playing with her "dying" at least 3 times before allowing me the privilege of "dying" only once before wresting control back.

After tucking my "Joy" into bed, I went downstairs to practice my gaming skills only to discover that my little darling had breezed right past the multi-player option which was offered immediately following the tutorial! Granted it wasn't much variety in the multiplayer option as you must earn points to unlock different aspects, but she deceived me and I was deceived!

The next day we moved on to Lego Star Wars and again the beast child emerged. Everything I did was "dumb" which basically meant that it wasn't what she wanted to do. We scored abysmally because her goal was to charge along as quickly as possible while mine was to explore and accumulate. In frustration I admit that at one point I tossed my controller in the air and in spite of apologizing, I really wasn't feeling all that sorry that it grazed Joy's head on the way down. Way to emulate Jesus, Mom!

I had to spend one day at work at the church and bring Joy along. My pastor/husband bought Joy a PC game which I loaded onto an office computer to entertain her while we both worked. One of the lovely matriarchs of our congregation and a dear friend walked in and asked Joy if she was playing a game while I was working. My lovely child turned around and addressed this kind and gracious woman who has opened her home to us, given us unlimited access to her pool, and weekends at her summer condo in Montauk, with the monosyllabic word, "Duh!"

In short, I have spent far more time on discipline this week than I thought I would having only 1 child rather than 4. I used to feel sorry for Joy when my older children excluded her from certain activities... I think I will have to apologize to all of them when they get home.