Where's the justice?

Cindy signed her charges up for Mother Goose at the library a few weeks ago. It's a Thursday morning story-hour program that also includes circle time and crafts. Today being the Thursday before Halloween, the kids were invited to wear their costumes to Mother Goose, so I sent Liam's along with the bag that normally accompanies him to Cindy's (normally only packed with a sippy cup, diapers and emergency change of clothes). When I picked Liam up Wednesday night I wished Cindy luck in getting him into the costume on Thursday morning and down to the library with no tears.

Tonight when I picked him up, she reported back to me that he loved wearing the costume. Was wondering what was up with all the other kids wearing theirs. Wore his hood the entire time, even while colouring a paper spider and pasting googly eyes onto a foam craft pumpkin. I was sure she was confusing him with someone else. I hadn't even sent the feet along, since they're really not for wearing outdoors, and I couldn't imagine that he would bear wearing any part of it for that long except for those feet. Remember - the photo to the left is him about two minutes after I got him into the costume last weekend, when he finally wrestled the hood free.

Then I realized that it sort of figures. It seems that in a lot of ways Cindy gets to see the very best in him, and we get to see the worst. He is pleasant and social to her. I come to collect him at the end of the day, and he kicks and screams as I carry him to the car. She gets him when he is raring to go in the morning, we get him when he is fussy at 5 o' clock. All this when we're the ones who tend to him all night long, who fret when he's sick, who celebrate every milestone (and the clincher - that whole 23-hour labour thing (which is bound to come up here again someday soon under the title "Things I Hope Not To Repeat With #2")). I know this is all completely normal and it's supposed to be a good sign - that he trusts us enough to let his true feelings be known with us. But when your child screams bloody murder at the prospect of - gasp - spending time with you - let me tell you, it wears on you.

If there's any solace in this it's that he should be set to go when Cindy celebrates Halloween at her house on Monday. (She doesn't have the kids wear costumes to her house on Tuesday so that they are raring to go on Tuesday night, rather than completely wiped.) And hopefully, he won't mind wearing the costume again on Tuesday night with us, at least for a little while. Tomorrow Cindy is taking the kids to the cornfield maze, the same one we visited as a family a few weeks ago. Liam was only mildly cranky there with us, which was mostly our fault for pushing him on the nap issue - but I wouldn't be surprised if he turns on the charm for Cindy when they go back at the exact same time. It would figure.