The indecisive child

Monday, December 28, 2009
My impatient child also happens to be an indecisive one. It begins from the moment she steps out of bed in the morning and continues until she places her head on the pillow at night. Everything from deciding what to wear, what to eat and what to drink to what to read, what to watch on TV and with whom to have a play date sends Emma into a tailspin.

Lately her indecisive behavior has become increasingly problematic. It has caused her to be tardy for school on one occasion. On a few other occasions, she's missed the bus, and I've had to drive her to school. We've tried having her pick out her clothes the night before school only to have her change her mind the following morning.

Today the situation spiraled completely out of control while we were supposed to be having fun at Build-A-Bear Workshop. My sister gave the girls each $50 Build-A-Bear gift cards for Christmas, and the girls couldn't wait to use them. We decided to go today. Little did I know what was in store for me!

Upon entering the store, Harper ran over to the owl and snatched him up. She knew what she wanted. Over the course of the next hour, we waited as Emma paced back and forth peering into each bin. Pondering. And pondering. And pondering some more. 45 minutes later, we were still waiting on Emma to decide. With a bear in hand, we approached the "stuffing station". Emma turned and looked back at the bins with tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't confident in her decision. She turned and ran back to the bins. This proved to be the first of several times that we'd get in line and abandon the line in order for Emma to debate.

Finally, after 2.5 hours and after much coaxing and stern words on my part, Emma was ready to stuff her bear. There were still tears in her eyes, but I knew once her bear was stuffed, she'd be happy with it. Our time at Build-A-Bear wasn't over yet! We still had to endure 40 minutes of Emma deciding on an outfit.

After close to 3 hours in Build-A-Bear, I departed the store with 2 very happy and content children. But, boy, was I ever emotionally drained. I was exhausted. I had no energy left to shop for myself. We headed to Starbucks where we regrouped over some pastries and fancy coffee drinks, and then headed to home sweet home!

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