Yes, He's That Kid!

Years ago when I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I saw visions of football and baseball games in my head. I could see this sweet little boy in my head in his overalls and a puppy nipping at his heels. I then found out it was a girl and little Joseph Steele AKA Josie became Toni Alexis. With the second child we opted not to find out, but it was always in my mind that little Destin Jeffrey was in there. It turned out I was wrong again and we held onto that boy name for four more pregnancies. My ex-husband decided then to have a vasectomy and my vision of my sweet little boy vanished.

Skip ahead seven years and I was now thirty three. During those several years my marriage ended and we all moved on. In February of 2012, I started dating my now husband. We talked about having kids and we started down the path of trying for baby. It didn't take long. I couldn't believe it. We went in for our eighteen week appointment with a name in hand, Avianna Gabrielle. When the ultrasound tech moved the control over the sex, I saw it immediately. He was 100% ALL BOY. I cried. My husband was so happy, but he already had three boys, so he was actually rooting for a girl. I immediately fell into puppies, overalls, John Deer hats, and cowboy boot mode. I could just see him playing baseball and hitting those home runs. It was perfect. And then....

When Garriant (We call him Dubba.) was two and a half, we had another baby. Another boy. I could see Garriant changing, but I assumed it was jealousy because of the new baby. It got worse and the tantrums became fits and the running started. He would run away outside every time the door was unlocked. We have had to chase him throughout the neighborhood more times than I can count. He has jumped in the ditch full of water with his school clothes on first thing in the morning. I have had to drive the car around the neighborhood looking for him in the rain because he slipped out before anyone saw him. One night he chased my car after I left the house to pick up take out and my husband had to run after him all the way up to the main road with cars having to stop to keep from hitting him as he chased after my long gone car. After that, I had my husband install slide locks at the top of every door. It has been insane trying to keep him from just running away.

This past spring my dream of watching my little boy in his baseball uniform came true. He was so excited when we went to get his cleats and gloves that I chased him through Academy Sports down three aisles. The first practice came and he was so excited I had to make him stop climbing the fence most of practice. He was so excited he ran around not listening to the coach, or my husband, or me, and I could see the parents staring with glares as he was like a feral jungle child all over the place. Finally, he was able to throw the ball and he threw it so hard he actually hit an old man that was there helping out. I apologized and so did Dubba, but it was too late. He tried to throw the ball to another kid, but missed and almost hit another boy. That was the moment the parents that were with that boy, literally walked off the field over to the other team that was practicing and had the coaches switch their son to that team. I found myself scolding him all the way home. He apologized over and over, but I was hurt. I had this dream and now he was labeled. He was "That Kid".

You know which kid I'm talking about. The one we have all seen at the playground throwing rocks or pushing someone down and inside we think to ourselves, "If I was his Mama, I'd beat the mess out of him." Well folks, I'm his mama and it doesn't work. We've tried it all. We've done time out, we've  taken away toys, we've spanked and none of it works. I told my husband we were never spanking again because it just seemed to make matters worse. The games were no better. He threw the sand and he shoved kids and we forced our way through every game. I felt those stares on me and I found something had changed in me. I became the primal mom who wanted to protect my cub. I could see it wasn't his fault, why couldn't they. He is a sweet boy. He hugs everybody. It doesn't matter who it is, but they didn't care if he hugged, all they cared about was his wild child mentality.

We had a scare a few weeks later when he ran away from his older sister at the beach while I was helping my daughter's friend set up for her wedding. Twenty long minutes went by on a crowded beach with us frantically running up and down looking for him. He was found with his other sister down by the water. She told me he told her I said he could go to the water with her. I was livid at her for not checking with me first.

 A couple more weeks went by and I was getting him ready for school. He was dressed and sitting in front of the TV while I was changing his little brother's diaper. I came back into the living room and the front door was wide open. He wasn't gone probably two minutes, but it was long enough. I started yelling for the other kids to help me look. We went around the block twice. It had rained all night and the creek that runs behind the neighbor's house was rising and moving very fast. I panicked. After ten minutes of all of us looking, I called 911. I broke down on the phone and had to gather myself to get the information to her. Within minutes the Sherriff cars came and fire and rescue. They all started the search. Forty five minutes went by and they hadn't found him. It was the longest forty five minutes of my entire life. Finally, my daughter Merlyn walked around the block one last time and saw his shoes at the bottom of the neighbor's steps. She ran and knocked on the door and the neighbor came to the door yawning. She told Merlyn she had just gotten up but would check and see if one of her little boys had seen him. Sure enough the six year old had let him in, unbeknownst to his mom and they were playing Beyblades in his bedroom. My husband had come home from work and the news station miraculously showed up just as we were all reunited. So now the whole area knows he's "That Kid".

He has been in pre-school since he was one and they say they have never had a problem with him. I thought it must be me. I've done something wrong as a parent, but two weeks ago he started pre-k at what he calls the Big Boy School. The first week I thought we had it made. I got no notes and no phone calls. I should have known it was too good to be true. Tuesday came the first call. Wednesday the second. He was running off during recess, running down the halls, and jumping onto the table in the cafeteria. So now he's "That Kid" at the elementary school. Thursday I tried something different.

 I started selling Kannaway back in May because his sister that has ADD and Dyslexia was on medication and I hated the way it made her. She had no appetite, she was moody, and she couldn't concentrate after it wore off. I had heard good things about the Kannaway which is a CBD oil derived from cannabis. It is 100% legal in all fifty states of the USA. I gave her the Kannaway and it was like someone flipped a switch. I started her out on the capsules, but have since switched to the 1000mg oil and I only give her a 25mg dose. It works great for her attention issues so I thought to myself it might work for him. Thursday I gave him a 25mg dose. The teacher said he was about the same. Friday I gave him 35mg. Once again he was still running away at recess. This morning I bumped him to a 50 mg dose and low and behold he didn't run. He listened to the teacher and all afternoon its like he is the little boy I saw in those visions so may years ago. I had a meeting with the school at lunch and the teacher informed me that he actually sat during story time. I will try again tomorrow and see how it goes. As far as him being "That Kid", I'm ok with him being the child everyone will always remember and know his name, because one day they will look back and think what an amazing little boy he was. He always had a hug and a smile and gosh was he fast.

The next time you see "That Kid" at the park or ball field, stop and offer to give his mom or dad a hand. Trust me when I say sometimes "Those Kids" just have more energy than mom and dad have combined.