When summarizing life with Zoe on this blog, I’ve often reported that “this is such a fun age” or this particular phase is “the best one yet.” Sadly, I can’t say those things about the two-year-(almost)-four-month phase. Though we still have our bright moments, life with Zoe has been a bit less rosy these past few weeks: my once almost-always-happy child is sometimes sassy, tempermental and irrational. Things that once posed no problems for us (getting dressed in the morning, going to bed at night, for example) are sometimes now major productions – with Zoe often wiggling around, running away, crying, yelling “no,” refusing to cooperate. I’ve read enough books and talked to enough parents to know that this is all “normal” (they don’t call them the “terrible twos” for nothing, right??), but I still find Zoe’s behavior somewhat challenging. And what’s expecially frustrating is that the things that used to work to calm her down or get her to cooperate don’t always do the trick now. In a way, I feel like I have to learn how to parent all over again.

After a long night (with Q out of town and Zoe not wanting to stay in her bed again), I was feeling somewhat down about things yesterday morning. Then, as we drove to Elena’s, Zoe asked for a song, and the two of us wound up singing a lovely duet of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” As I listened to her raspy little voice mimic mine and caught a glimpse of her little face in the rear-view mirror, it suddenly occured to me that moments like this are what I should be focusing on. Zoe might be going through a challenging phase, but it’s those little, sweet moments that (excuse the cliche) make it all worth it. (Now I just have to keep this in mind the next time Zoe says, “no, Mommy!” ten times in a row!)

-M