Full Moon

Naomi decided to moon me tonight. I have no idea where in the world she got the idea (is that what they do at Kindergarten these days?). It took every ounce of composure I could muster not to bust up laughing. You know, because I hoped she wouldn't repeat the offense. Part of me wonders, though, if laughing would have been a better reaction. I scolded her and told her that it wasn't okay to do that, and she started bawling because she felt so bad. It was the second time that day she had reacted that way. Earlier, Emma wouldn't move out of the way of the fridge, so Naomi just forced the door open, and ended up hurting Emma's foot. Naomi felt so bad she was inconsolable for several minutes. As a mom, I'm not totally sure what to do in those situations. Sure, what she did was wrong, but her self-punishment overcompensates for the misdeed. She struggles with standing up for herself and it's hard for me to watch, since I was the same way as a kid. So when she stands up for herself, and things go wrong, I'm afraid it will keep her from standing up for herself in the future, since it reinforces the idea that standing up for herself hurts other people, and she can't bear the thought of hurting someone else. After the mooning incident, I just held her and reassured her that I loved her. That seemed to help. But I do hope that her mooning days are over. :)