The Definition of Frustration

The girls have gone to another VBS this week. It's at my aunt and uncle's church and it's only 1 1/2 hours in the evenings. It's simple and sweet and not too long. They decided they wanted to go. Little Bit had a really hard time deciding to stay (nervous situation=tics break out like crazy) but she did it. They had a clown who threw small stuffed bears out into the crowd. They had a guy who made balloon animals and gave them out to random kids. My girls didn't get a bear or a balloon the first night.

Little Bit was NOT happy. Sweetheart wasn't all that thrilled either. We had a talk on the way home last night about how things aren't always fair. I told them I agreed with them. If I was running the VBS, I would not give out things unless there was enough to go around. I really do hate that kind of thing. Only the aggressive, taller kids who happened to be sitting near the aisle had any chance of getting anything. It really wasn't fair. I sympathized with them, but reminded them that they did not need anything. It would be fine.

Little Bit just could not drop it. I'm still not sure if this is just part of her personality or part of her Tourette's but she can get stuck on something for quite a while. I finally pointed out that kids who brought visitors had been called forward and given a treat on the first night. Since she would be bringing her cousin the next day, that meant she would be called forward and given a treat too.

She talked about it several times today. "I hope I get a bear." "I hope I get a treat tonight." There were 190 kids there the first night and they threw out maybe 10 bears. The chances are not good. I told her so.

Well, my sister and I got there at the end of VBS tonight. Sweetheart held up the small bear she had caught to show me. Uh oh. Then, they called out the names of those who brought visitors. Sweetheart's name was called. Little Bit's was not. Double uh oh.

I went up to check on her and she was standing there absolutely drowning in tears. She looked stricken and no adults had noticed. I got her attention and she came to lay on my shoulder and cry. Her teacher saw us and asked what was wrong. I told her and she alerted the speaker who said, "she can come up too." But the damage was done. Her name had not been called. Wait, it gets worse.

So she goes forward to get her treat and it is a little orange pen on a necklace. Moose (my niece) goes up and gets one too even though her name was not called. When we get to my sister I notice that Little Bit's pen is broken. Sister offers to trade Moose's for the broken one since she wasn't supposed to have one in the first place. "Whew! Thanks!" I say.

We are driving home and Little Bit says her pen won't work. I tell her to give it to me and I'll show her how it works. It's tangled up in her seat belt and name tag. Sweetheart reaches over and jerks the pen to get it undone and breaks it. I tell her she must give her pen to Little Bit now that she broke her sister's. Now EVERYONE is crying (except me). "I didn't mean to Mama!" Sweetheart wails. "I didn't ask you to jerk it! I didn't ask you to do that!" I say. Little Bit just says, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" It was a lovely ride home.

At a red light I think I have fixed the pen, then it flies apart again. These two stupid pieces of junk that cost probably 10 cents a piece are NOT WORTH IT! We are not going back to VBS tomorrow night, I say! And no one argued.

And then Little Bit noticed the stuffed bear her sister caught.

So, do you think I even know what Bible story they learned about tonight?

I'm sure there's a lesson in all of this but I really don't care what it is. Tomorrow we are staying home.