Chatty Cathy

Is it wrong to feel irritated that this is the second time this week I've been left to entertain Liam by myself?

I can't really blame Steve because he had legitimate work reasons for coming home late. But I find myself aggravated when I'm left to fly solo because despite Liam being old enough to be self-sufficient, he's absolutely exhausting.

The kid is constantly talking. On Tuesday evening, he sat beside me playing his PSP and actually narrated everything he was doing in the game. On the way home from dinner last night, he talked so much he would ask a question and not even allow enough time for someone to answer. He interrupts. He disagrees. If he's not talking, he's laughing. He. Won't. Shut. Up.

I've realized that one area that is lacking in my relationship with the boys is communication. It's so hard to not just nod my head and murmer "uh-huh," "yeah," "interesting." It's not that I purposely don't want to pay attention. I just can't sometimes. It's mind-numbing. Sometimes I go to the bathroom just for a few moments of silence.

I wonder if he's like this with his mom. Liam has mentioned that his mom usually comes home from work and just kind of collapses, so I figure he ends up entertaining himself pretty often. But for goodness sake -- she's a single working mother. Did I mention she teaches preschool? Of course she's tired when she gets home. And hello -- Liam is 12. He's old enough to keep himself occupied without needing an audience every waking moment of his life.

Then again, he does spend the day alone while he's here, so he might just be lonely. Even adults crave conversation sometimes. But geez-oh-man, the constant chattering is going to make my brain bleed out my ears. I suffer from sensory overload enough as it is -- and this is only making it worse!

Short of stuffing my ears with plugs, I guess I'll just have to develop some sort of coping mechanism. Or have Steve talk to him about it. I don't really want to go that route, though, because I'm trying REALLY hard to not complain about the boys this summer (unless undeniably warranted -- I'm not a pushover). It's been really easy so far, but something's gotta give when it comes to Liam's wratchetjaw. It's not only annoying -- it's socially rude. He can't go around always talking over people.

But how do you tell a child to FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY, CAN IT!!!