Life with a Ticking Time Bomb

Will it be a good morning? Hold your breath and wait to find out.

I need to ask her to get ready for church. I feel so nervous, wondering if it will be an "Okay!" and get ready kind of day .. or an "I DON'T WANT TO!", shouting and door slamming kind of day.

What will set her off? Asking her to brush her teeth? Floss? Go to the bathroom? (Oof. Don't suggest she peed her pants! You might as well frolick in a thunderstorm.) Maybe asking her to help with dishes will be the thing that sets her off today. Or simply asking her to let me nurse her brother in peace. "No interruptions unless it's a true emergency." Well, that goes in one ear and out the other every single day... actually, I'm not even sure it ever goes in one ear. I think it just bounces off her forehead.

What will make her roll her eyes today? The crazy notion that she needs to consider eating a vegetable?...the one vegetable she will eat - raw carrots...and hardly any at all, I might add. What a crazy idea that we should eat "healthy" foods (said with "air quotes" and a mocking tone), especially for SNACK time. That's for SNACK foods. *Insert major eye roll... Like, "Duh, Mom."*

Do I instruct with confidence today, regardless of the emotional fallout? Or do I tiptoe around while it's calm so as not to disturb the temporary place, avoiding her as much as possible?

Tick. Tick. Tick. Boom. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Or at least the next hour.