As you can probably tell from the syntax, that’s Rory talking. Earlier this week, Lily had a friend over, and Wy went to said friend’s house to play with her brother, leaving Rory at somewhat of a loose end. At least she thought so. I was working on a promised Strollerderby post at the kitchen counter. She came and lay under my barstool. She crawled up and sat in the stool next to me, fingering the fruit in the bowl. She tried to sit in my lap. I rebuffed all of this; I was working, I wouldn’t be working long, and I had a little crafty thing planned for all three girls as soon as I was through.
But Rory couldn’t take it. She lay down under the stool again and offered those words: “I want go back China.” You cannot possibly imagine the drawn out whine on “China.”
I have been suspecting for a while that China has become Rory’s go-to attention getter of choice. She says something about China, and I drop everything to listen. It was good for a while. She was really sharing. But this past week, I have seen it again and again at moments when Rory wasn’t getting the attention juice she craved. Mommy is making dinner? Let’s talk about the kitty in China. Mommy is driving the car and singing along with the radio? Let’s talk about the van. Mommy is helping Wyatt build. Toy helicopter? Let’s bring up Baba Mike. You see the pattern.

Rory doesn’t really want to go back to China. She means to visit, which we have said we will do one day. And I know she misses her best friend there and just hasn’t found anything like that here. I mean, of course it’s big. Of course she wants to talk about it. But this was just so obvious. And I couldn’t let it work. I called her on it. I know you think Mommy can talk about China now. China is important. But you can tell me about it later.

Within two minutes she was in the playroom, breaking a sure-fire attention getting rule with a wicked smile, and two minutes later she embarked on a forty minute long tantrum. I ended up finishing the work–which needed about three minutes and took twenty–hiding in the basement. She never got to try the craft. She didn’t get her nintendo back (turning it on was the rule she broke; it’s weekends only). She didn’t get my attention until later.

We have had variations on this all week. I think it’s summer. I think she misses school and routine. I think she needs one on one time, or more of it, and it’s in short supply. I think it will work itself out.

I also think its kinda funny.