WALKING (4 1/2 YRS OLD)

Walking with S on errands has been a hassle for momma. Today momma and S walked from the Regal Movie theater to Central Market. During the walk, momma spent most of her time trying to keep S from getting runned over in the parking lot or getting lost.

She wants to be independent: walk without holding momma's hand and crossing the street by herself. But often, momma reprimands her for walking in the middle of the parking lot. She doesn't watch out for cars in the parking lot. She often forgets to look both ways when crossing the street. Frequently, she blazes her own path, running here or there, around the corner, or to another store, without knowing where she's going. Even worse, she loses momma and panics.

When momma tries to hold her hand, she pulls away and when momma tries to grab her to stop her from getting hit she tries to pull away, too. This constant battle tires momma out.

Momma thinks this is all a learning process -- but in the meantime, momma is going crazy from keeping S safe. By the end of the day, momma's had enough of being momma.