"I'm going to cry until you give me candy."

The scene in Walgreens yesterday afternoon was far from entertaining....for me. I'm sure everyone around me was getting a kick out of me holding my breath until I turn purple from restraint and embarrassment. Yes, I'm sure it was quite entertaining. However for me, I was boiling over with frustration and losing my frame of reference bit by bit as my son went from being a well behaved child to some being that I couldn't even recognize. It was a scene out of a horror film. I watched as horns grew from my child's head and his voice had that slow scary tape recorder sound thing going on. I was frightened to say the least.

"Can I have a lolly pop?"

"No."

Now see my intention was to get him something he couldn't stick to any furniture or get caught in a blanket. It was one of those large circular twisty lollipops and I just wasn't interested in seeing lint gather on my son's face. Those things are just too messy and I wasn't in a mood for messy at that moment. So my intention was to move on down the isle and get him a less messy candy. BUT NO!

He followed me, WITH this lollipop that I just told him he couldn't have. "Why are you following me with that Lollipop Sky, Mommy said no."
*whining* "But I want it."
"Well whining is surely not going to get it."

I made my last attempt to be a nice mommy. "Go ahead and pick out one of these boxed candies and put that one down."

"No I want this one." Now I know kids do this, but I have passed this stage in his life, or so I thought.

I looked at him like he was an alien and I told him, "That is fine, you won't get any candy. I don't give anything to spoiled children." He commenced to throw a demon size tantrum by CRYING LOUDLY then telling me, "You're not going to like me anymore." his classic psychological defense he tries on me.

"That is not working with me son, I don't know who that even works with. Of course I like you, I just don't like your spoiled attitude and your unnecessary crying so knock it off or you wont have an XBOX when you get home."

"I'm going to cry until you give me candy!"

Now when I say I wanted to reach out and touch him right in the middle of the store, nothing can really describe what feeling came over my body. I know not everyone believes in butt-whoppings, but my apologies, its where I came from. I don't resort to violence easily but this was some ridiculousness that I couldn't even fathom my child was capable of. I held my breath, turning purple from restraint and embarrassment and he indeed cried until we left. When we returned home he had the longest "time out" he'd ever experienced and was grounded from video games.

Who is this child and where is the little boy I gave birth to?