The Cathcart Clan: Cousin Emily's entree to parenting two kids

My favorite cousin, Emily from Cincinnati, came to visit us this week. Emily and I have always been close and even have the same laugh. Emily is a special education teacher in Ohio, so she was on spring break. WOO HOO! Spring break in Chesapeake Beach! Having her here made me super excited for the 3rd Annual Buffington Reunion in Atlanta this August.

I tried to talk up Emily's visit to Ashton, so that he would see how cool she is to be arround. Truly, Emily is hilarious and has a witty comment about everything. An added bonus because of her professional background, she has all of the tools to manage active kids. However, it was a rough couple of days because Ashton wasn't his self, which made the visit stressful. I think Emily might have diagnosed the problem best: Ashton is jealous of anyone who diverts my attention away from him. Now that she said it, I can see how his behavior changes when there is competition in the room. It also explains why he hasn't liked my mom in the past, because she and I are very close and talk nonstop during our visits. Though this revalation helped explain things, it didn't make it any less annoying when he acted out every five minutes. Towards the end of the visit, I tried to communicate with Ashton giving him full attention when I was able, so he didn't feel as left out. This seemed to help a little... then we went to JumpBunch class.

Oh my gosh, I don't even know where to start. I signed Ashton up for a class that teaches sports fundamentals, since he is obsessed with sports. Unfortunately, the taking turns and pause for instruction is almost too much for him to handle. I spent 75% of my time running after him and trying to get him focused. Mothers looked at me in disgust when he ran away from the class or didn't follow the exact instructions. I can't understand the judgmental looks and wanted to punch each one of them in the face. A few of them had the audacity to comment: "I don't know how you do it." "Is he always this, uh, energetic?" "It's a good thing you're ten years younger than me because I don't have the energy anymore." Screw all of them. Ashton is a really good kid, I swear; being the youngest in the class doesn't help, plus he is just learning how to stand in line and wait. He's one of the most athletic ones, so isn't like he can't hang. It's these parents' attitudes and facial expressions that give kids who are unique low self-esteem, which in turn teaches their peers to outright reject them from their perfectly coiffed cliques. I pray that I don't turn into one of them and use this experience to support other parents in similar situations. Maybe one day I'll find the courage to speak out to these jerks and fight for my little guy.