Strong Enough (An Older Brother Story)

Temper Tantrums

Clayton's POV:

When I get home from work Amelia and Sophia are sitting together at the table painting their nails and talking and laughing. I am a little shocked, but I am not going to object. I walk into the kitchen and say "Well, it looks like you two are getting along better than this morning." Sophia looks at me with a shy smile and says "Yeah, we talked. I already told Amelia this, but I am really sorry Clay, about everything." I walk over to her and kiss the top of her head and say "Thank you kiddo, that means a lot." Then I go kiss Amelia and say "What do you have cooking in here beautiful? It smells delicious." She smiles and says "Well hello to you too, and pot roast, but don't go and open that Crock Pot yet mister...."
as I reach for the Crock Pot lid "...it's not done yet." I back off and go sit down at the table.

Then I ask Sophia "Did you get all of your work done?" I left her a lot of extra work on top her school work; some bible verses to copy, a few articles to read, and an essay to write. She nods. Then I ask "And did you write the apology letter?" she roles her eyes and says "Yep." with an attitude. I turn my chair so that I am looking at her and say "Excuse me young lady, do you want to try that again?" She looks down quickly and mumbles "Yes sir." I nod and say "Thank you."

That girl, she is going to give me grey hair by the time I am 25. She has really been having more of an attitude lately. I guess I am on the verge of raising a teenager. Geez, I don't know if I am going to be able to handle that. I guess I don't have much of a choice though. Right now it is difficult, because while I am starting to see those teenager moments poking through, there is still a little kid in there. I am trying desperately, perhaps too much so, to hang on to that kid for as long as I can.

Eventually we all have dinner. It is amazing, as it always is whenever Amelia cooks. It is also amazing because for the first time in a long time all three of us are able to eat together in peace. In fact, it is more than just peace, it is actually enjoyable. We all talk and laugh and just enjoy being together. For a moment I let myself sit back and enjoy it, it almost feels like we are a real family, which is something that I have wanted for so long. Although, I know I still have to take a few steps to get us there officially. However, I am finally feeling like that is a possibility in the near future.

Dinner is great, but after dinner the trouble starts. Amelia is cleaning up and I tell Sophia "Alright kiddo, looks like it is time that you go get ready for bed." She looks at me incredulously and says "Clayton, you can't be serious, it is only 8:15!" So much for our nice evening, this isn't going to end well. I look at her and say "You need to be in bed by 8:30, so I feel like right now is a perfectly reasonable time for you to start getting ready." She glares at me and almost shouts "Why do I need to be in bed by 8:30?!" I try to remain calm and say "Your normal bed time is 9:30, and you are grounded so you have to get up an hour early. It seems to make sense that you should be going to bed an hour early too. Especially considering that you didn't do so last night and have had quite a few outburst today. Maybe it will make you less cranky tomorrow and you won't decide to have an attitude with me when I ask you a question."   If looks could kill, I would be dead after the way she is glaring at me currently. She screams "This is so unfair!" and storms to her room and slams the door. That is the last straw. I am fed up with the disobedience and disrespect; she knows better than to yell at me or slam doors in this house. I shout "Sophia Grace, get out here this instant!" It is time we had a talk and I put that little girl back in her place. I may be on the verge of raising a teenager, but whether she is 12 or 17, she is not going to act like this while she is living under my roof. After a minute she comes slowly walking down the hallway with her head down.

Sophia's POV:

I can not believe how unfair Clayton is being! Sometimes he can really be a big jerk! I shout "This is so unfair!" and run to my room and slam the door. Suddenly I hear Clayton yell "Sophia Grace, get out here this instant!" Oh crap, I am in big trouble now.... Clayton does not use my middle name very often, and he yells at me even less frequently, but both of those things are a sign that I am in big trouble. I knew I would be after the way I acted, but I was so angry in the moment that I just didn't care. I drag my feet as I walk out to the living room and look at the floor so that I don't have to look him in the eyes. He is probably going to yell at me, but it is worse than with most parents because he only yells at me when he is really upset or disappointed. So first of all, it is really scary when he yells at me. Most people would think Clayton is too nice to be scary, but believe me, that is not the case. He is very patient and forgiving, it takes a lot to get him angry, but once you get him there he can have a bit of a temper. In addition to it being scary it also makes me feel really guilty. I know how much he sacrifices to take care of me and I don't like disappointing him; I really do try to be obedient and respectful, but sometimes I just can't. Once I am in the living room he stands up and points to the couch and says "Sit. Now." Oh geez, this is really going to be bad. I sit down and look at my lap. He is still standing up, which means he is not done yelling. He continues "I am sick and tired of the attitude that you have been having lately young lady! You are being insolent and defiant and disrespectful and I have had enough of it!" I start crying almost instantly, I really hate when he yells at me. Every time I tell myself that I am not going to cry, I'm not a little kid am I should be able to handle a little yelling, but I always end up crying almost instantly. When he sees that I am crying he takes a deep breath and sits down next to me. My crying had the same debilitating effect on him that his yelling does on me. He pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around me. Suddenly I feel really overwhelmed with everything that has happened recently and my crying turns into inconsolable sobbing.

Clayton's POV:

I really lost my temper with Sophia. I should not have yelled at her like that. I know how much it upsets her and I was being excessive. Shouting at her to get out here would have been enough to get her to drop the attitude so that we could talk. I didn't need to continue to yell at her after that. Now I am just holding her while she cries, no point in trying to continue this conversation until she is calmed down. I really hate making my baby sister cry; I always feel terrible when I do, but sometimes it just seems like nothing else will get across to her, especially lately. When she was little all it usually took to get her to obey me was a stern look. She usually listened to me and I rarely had to punish her; it was definitely preferable to our current situation. When she has finally calmed down I ask her "Are you okay now kiddo?" she starts crying again and says "You-you-you yelled at me bubby..." I know that she is upset right now, but hearing her call me bubby warms my heart a little, that is one of those kid things that are becoming more and more rare. I hug her again and say "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have yelled at you like that. But kiddo, you know I don't like having to yell at you, right?" she looks down and says "Yes sir, I know." and I continue "I love you so much Sophia, but sometimes you don't give me a choice." she responds "I know, I'm sorry, I love you too bubby..." and she starts getting a little teary eyed. I ask her "Are you calmed down enough now to talk about what happened now?" she looks down and says "Yeah I guess so..." I move her off of my lap so that I can look at her while we talk. She continues looking down and I say strictly "Look me in the eyes when I am talking to you young lady." She looks up and says "Yes sir." her eyes are all red and puffy from crying and she is fighting to keep her bottom lip from sticking out, 6 years of practice and you would think that getting on to her would get easier, but I still just want to hug her when she looks at me like that. However, I know that is not what she needs from me right now, so I continue "Do we slam doors in this house Sophia?" she responds  "No sir, we don't." and I add "And you do not yell at me or storm off when I am talking to you either, that is disrespectful and it will not be tolerated, do you understand me?" She responds again "Yes sir." and I say "Alright kiddo, how do we handle temper tantrums in this household?" she looks at me wide eyed and says "Clayton! I am almost 13, you don't seriously expect me to stand in the corner?! That is so embarrassing!" I sit back and cross my arms and say "You know what is more embarrassing? An almost 13 year old who throws a tantrum when she doesn't get her way. If you want to act like a child you can be punished like a child. I am not going to ask twice." She rolls her eyes, which I decide to ignore for now, and walks to the corner, I can see that she is contemplating stomping, but I think she realizes that would undermine her position. I realize that a timeout is not really an appropriate punishment for a 12 year old, the last time I punished her that way was over 2 years ago, but I think that she needs a little reminder that she is still a kid to put her back in her place.