Lessons From Gandhi

Turtle appears to have a mentor, in the form of Mahatma Gandhi.

Maybe if he was a little older, this would be a good thing. But for now, it seems he has latched on to the concept of "Civil Disobedience." How he stumbled upon this is beyond me. I'm relatively sure it's not a lesson on Blues Clues, and I swear I haven't heard Laurie Berkner singing about it.

However he got it, I'm not a fan.

This is how it works. He'll do something he's not supposed to. Like attempt to go up the stairs by himself. I'll tell him to come back. He tests. I count off.

Ooooooonnnnnnnne..... (I get into standing position)
Twoooooooooooooo...... (I'm on the move)
Three. (I am right next to him).

At this point, he has a choice. He can persist, or he can come with me. Sometimes, he's thinks better of his options and comes with me. More often, though, it seems, he persists.

So I assert my mommy powers and attempt to move him to a safer, more appropriate location.

And that's when he responds with Toddler Civil Disobedience. He just lets himself go limp, like a 35 lb sack of potatoes, in my arms. He doesn't fight me or struggle. He just sends me the crystal clear message that he objects wholly to my tyranny and will neither assist nor resist my efforts.

Swell.

On its own, it's not so awful. Far better than a temper tantrum, really. However, when you couple it with his seemingly uncontrollable urges to release caged animals (namely dogs from their kennels or leashes), well... all I'm saying is that it's something to keep an eye on.

For such a little guy, he sure does keep us on our toes :)