Adam didn’t like the fish I cooked, or the pasta from last night, or the ribs his brother picked up at the deli counter, or the mashed potatoes we made.

Me and my firecracker middle child Adam

So tonight – as is frequently the case – Adam made a peanut butter sandwich for dinner.  We really must stop giving into him and start arranging better food.  We’re seeing a dietician after school holidays and will up our game in this area soon.  I’ll keep you posted.

So, during the serious business of sandwich construction, the peanut butter broke the soft bread and a tiny (compared to his trade-mark Mt. Vesuvius explosions) tantrum commenced.

Managed to reign it in with humour. Can’t recall exactly what was said, but he chilled out before an epic explosion occurred.

Then, with all the solemness and sincerity any five-year-old could ever muster, Adam looked at me and said:

“You know what.  I wish I could just go back to when life was simpler.”

I of course laughed out loud to the point of pain (which doesn’t take much with my tender side at the moment) and asked him to elaborate.

“Well, I wish I could be three again.  Everything was better.  I got more treats, and less discipline.  Yeah, life was waaaaaay better when I was three.”

I hugged my thoughtful little man and lamented on the troubles he has been working through with his temper for most of his life.

Things were a bit easier when he was three I suppose.  But he still had issues with his temper.  I’m glad we’re working hard with an army of experts to help him get to a better place and learn to be less frustrated all the time.

But as we’re doing this, I absolutely relish the moments like tonight, when we made a sandwich together and he pined for simpler times.

I thought it best not to let him know that things get a whole lot tougher with puberty and beyond… He’ll figure it out.  And we will be here to guide him and Love him through the ups and the downs.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you for reading!  Here are some more pictures and a video of bedtime song time in his room (which were indeed more frequent when Adam was three)

Adam painted as his Chinese Astrological sign: Tiger

Adam hamming it up for the camera and Napoleon (the family dog) wondering what is going on.