Growing A PART

Growing a part..hmm if you say that really fast , the meaning can get lost. You could mean you are growing an appendage or perhaps a part of your self - or you could mean that something is accumulating distance and not as close as it once was. I think my family is doing one and sometimes both of them.

Sometime in the last 2 months we had a .. well... a family, move in that has added to the head count in my apartment. I have been wanting 3 children for a while but this is not exactly what I had in mind.

Just about the time the sun appears in the sky and the rooster crows I expect to hear the bell ringing on my gate and a knock on my door. (YES HE can bypass the childproof gate) "can I play, Can I come in?" I proceed with the morning ritual of sending my new third child back to his home at 7:40, and again at 8:00, 8:15 and finally when 8:30 arrives and I can't keep my other 2 children from grinning with glee as they see him once again at the gate, I give up and let the child in to wreak havoc on the house. I am growing a Part - A "full grown"3 1/2 year old part.

There are moments when I enjoy having this part in the house to make my children laugh and keep them busy. It is nice to watch him learn to say sorry, say please and thank you or when he learns a new word. My eldest loves him and will make up fun and elaborate games to play when he is over. (I think he is more thrilled with the fact that this new PART does whatever he tells him too - thus becoming the perfect play partner in all his adventures)

There are most certainly moments, Although, sadly, more often then not, I feel like I have grown something akin to a wart in a most irritating spot. I just want to freeze it off and get on with my life.

Let me explain, besides the early morning greetings over and over and over again, My youngest does not get along so well with this new part. They like to yell and shriek and fight. If I send him home to his family, explaining the need for time, I see him 15 minutes later.. once again at the door or just playing on the patio. The part gets hungry just about as much as my kids do and will not hesitate to ask for what he wants - as opposed to what the whole is getting. I have even found him on the counter in the cupboards. He keeps me on my toes.

Since this new growth in our household I have begun to seek refuge in other areas. I go to the park, the in-laws, the store, the library, the beach, the"ANYWHERE I CAN THINK OF" I wake up thinking of excuses not to let him in or places to go so I don't have to have any excuses. Often I call and invite other children over so I can use the "inn is full" excuse.

I have become a busy woman with places to go.

My only hope is that this new Part in our lives will grow bored and we will grow apart!