The Hankie

We really did have a tantrum-free weekend.  But it doesn’t mean that Puppy was happy-go-lucky the entire time.  He still had his moments, but he was able to control himself from blowing up and was able to comply when asked to lower his voice.  He was still his stubborn self when it came to household chores like making his bed, picking up his dirty laundry, and not being able to buy a wallet at the convenient store.  I know taking him to the store is his weakness, but the more I thought about it, the more I want to take him to make us both stronger; him to not get or ask for a wallet and so that I don’t give in to buying one.

 I’m really trying to be firmer with our discussions.  Although, I do my best, it still might come back and bite me because as I mentioned in Magical Classroom, his school environment is different from our home environment.  I am more lenient and allow certain actions like taking his handkerchief in his back pocket, but only to find out that he manipulated the freedom and folded it into a wallet-like shape by putting his folds in a manner to give it size, and even a couple of times made it so that it held his credit cards just perfectly.  Yep, he’s good, and he knows exactly what he wants.

Going back to the handkerchief, this morning he was whining that he wanted to take it and put a cardboard prayer in it, after all it was prayer, what’s wrong with that? I firmly told him he couldn’t put anything in the hankie and even took it to iron it into a small neatly pressed square.  I smiled as I handed it to him.  Nothing will fit and he will comply.  Or so I wished.  He took it and snapped it open.  Placed it on the bed and proceeded to fold it into a wallet.  We went over and over the rules that reminded him the hankie did not come that way and it was wrong to fold it as he did; teacher was definitely going to see it and keep it…again.  He walked away to his room upset at my disapproval.  He came back, apologized and we gave it a proper folding then placed it in his back pocket.  I smiled again and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I hope you aren’t getting confused and thinking that Puppy has an obsession with handkerchiefs, because he doesn’t.  His obsession still remains with wallets, but he will substitute just about ANYTHING for one, every chance he gets.  It is still a work in progress.