Stubborn

Just before we got engaged my husband spoke to my father to get his blessing or permission or whatever it is you do when you speak to your future father-in-law to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. My dad said to him, "Are you sure you want to marry her? She can be pretty stubborn." My husband in his young, naive, so-in-love-and-couldn't-wait-to-be-married mode replied, "yeah, I know she is."

Uh, gee thanks Dad...

And over the years I've had to listen to my husband say, "Man, your dad was right. You ARE stubborn, I had no idea!"

This really grates on my stubborn mind. For the record, I like to think of it as being strong-willed, independent and assertive.

And now, when we have a child who rears the ugly head of stubbornness you can just guess who gets the blame. But that's ok, I can handle it. I'm STUBBORN, remember? I take it as a compliment. In fact, I like having stubborn kids. You want to know why? They ARE more independent. Hence they dress themselves sooner, are less clingy at an earlier age, and can tend to their own needs like pouring a bowl of cereal themselves, etc.

But, here's the problem: I have a potty training two-year old right now and we are butting heads over the issue. Not the peeing part, that for the most part is good. It's the other part we're talking about here and it's definitely a problem. He, quite possibly, could be the most stubborn of them all. The bribery isn't even working at this point. A full-size candy bar and a trip to get an ice cream cone are on the table thus far. The way to this kid's heart is through his stomach and he does really want these things, it's just that he doesn't want them enough to do the deed.

And so we are in a battle.

A battle of wills. His against mine. He thinks he's won at this point because I have backed off a little bit. But, I'm just biding my time and eventually I will win because I always do. And let's face it, I have had quite a few more years than him to perfect my stubbornness.