A couple of weeks back, Ocean City was hit with an incredibly rainy day. It came one day after I returned home to take care of some things around the house. I was only gone for 10 hours or so, but it was enough to throw Tony through a loop.
From the minute we woke up the next morning, Tony was all sixes and sevens. He cried, or screamed, most of the morning. Nothing we tried to do with him helped either. We offered to build train tracks, play trucks, watch movies and play games. Nothing pleased him at all. Mind you, he is two-and-a-half right now and right in the middle of the terrible twos.
It rained all day long and well into the night after Tony went to bed. There is not much to do with a two year old when at the Jersey Shore and it rains as heavily as it did that day.
What makes matters worse is that when I asked Tony why he was so angry and upset throughout the day, his answer was, “You went home.”
Are you kidding me?! I left for a total of 10 hours and he is playing the guilt card. I am with him on a daily basis since I work from home, but I guess me not being there when he woke up that one morning put him into a tizzy.
Throughout the day in which I was not at the shore, I kept receiving good updates from Nicole about Tony and his behavior. He was listening, playing nicely, and even helping out with his little brother when asked.
But, the minute we woke up the next morning, Tony let me have it for not being with him the previous day.
Trying to get Tony to go to bed that night was another project. All he wanted to do was spend time with Daddy, who still had to find time to complete that day’s work.
From the minute he woke up that morning, to the minute he went to bed, Tony was put in time-out at least eight times. Dealing with a two year old who wants to be independent and who has an attitude at times can be very challenging, but when you stick to your guns, everything works out in the end.
The next time a rainy day comes at the shore, I think we will take Tony for a car ride along Ocean Drive so we can do some New Jersey island hopping. What made things so difficult that day was the fact that the rain was coming down so hard, almost like a tropical storm, that Tony could not go play in the puddles. That probably would have made things a whole lot easier.
Despite all of this, I wouldn’t trade a bad day with a two year old for anything in the world. It still meant that I got to spend time with my son. And, somehow, his tantrum did not bother Enzo one bit. That little guy loves noise!
