Now that he’s 14 I feel more comfortable leaving him at home by himself some times. And he’s more than comfortable with that as well – to the point of saying goodbye to me and whooping it up behind the door as I leave. However, there are times when I tell him that he will be coming with me – no negotiation. Of course he tries to negotiate. And he pleads. And he argues. And this is all repeated. I used to get caught up in the back-and-forth but I’ve learned to back off and walk away.
I tell him that this is what we’re doing and when we’re doing it. I give him plenty of notice because the delay tactics come into play. He’ll decide he needs to eat so out comes the cereal and milk. This is why I allow plenty of time or have something on hand to eat in the car.
I find all of this harder to deal with than getting him and all his belongings as a baby or toddler out of the door. At least he didn’t argue then.
And once he’s out and over the fact that he’s not at home by himself it’s usually pretty good.
One of our recent outings was to see the Brighton sculptures. Below are the photos with one of him actually letting me take a photo of him. Also a rare occurrence these days.
