"No Ma good"....can also be translated as "I don't like you." These were the words I heard Kai speak this afternoon to me. His last big meltdown occurred over at the Smith's house over Christmas. He had another meltdown for the exact same reason...this time we were home which made it easier.
Kai came to me complaining that he doesn't have a working App Store on his ipod but that Macy and Caden do. I told him to stop, told him we already talked about this, and we weren't going there again. He walked off with tears starting to form. The next minute, he was in full blown crying mode. Since we were home, it was easy to ignore him. I have learned that when he is in this state, NOTHING works. We all ignored him and he continued to not just cry but sob for the next 80 minutes....yes, 80. On at least 3 occasions, he was crying so loud and hard that he would start gagging and choking. At one point during that 80 minutes, I tried to console but was greeted with a closed and locked bathroom door in my face. Hubby K was actually home for this one and he also tried at one point. We decided we would just let him finish his crying session and go from there.
After the 80 minutes, Kai started cleaning his bathroom. He saw Hubby K and Little C working on Little C's room. Hubby K told Kai we were cleaning so Kai started on his room and bathroom. Hubby K and I were both supposed to be at the temple at 2:30 but I ended up going alone so the kids didn't have to deal with Kai's aftermath. I went in to the bathroom that Kai was cleaning to say goodbye. He wanted nothing to do with me.
After the temple, I came home, walked into the house, and heard Kai say, "Hi, Ma!" I guess I'm not "No Ma Good" anymore. I must be "Little Ma Good" now. How did it make me feel to hear the words "No Ma Good" this afternoon? The same way it makes me feel when my other four kids have said "I don't like you."....it affects me very little. That may surprise some but I figure I am doing my job as a mom if my kids feel that way about me once in a while. I'm not your friend, I'm your mother and I am going to do what I feel is the best for you and if that causes you to say that in that moment I am not liked, so be it. I know it's not true. I am doing my job as a mom.
