Oh, what fun it is in the Omega house today! The wee lass woke in a snarky mood. She came whining into the bedroom. "I waaaaant a mooooovie!" No. Whining is not what gets you what you want in the Omega house. "I waaaaant it!" No, OmegaDotter, you have to ask for it nicely. She pitched a fit. Snot flying, screaming, pounding the floor. Ooba dooba. The fit got so bad, that we informed her (when it was over) that since she had behaved so badly, she was movie free for the day. Bam! Into the fit again. Then, when we were picking her up: "I waaaaant to go to the stooooore!" (There's a store at the corner where daycare is.) No, OmegaDotter, we don't whine when asking for things. "I waaaaaant iiiiit!" And whammo-blammo, right into another fit, screaming, crying, snot, the whole nine yards. She calmed down before we reached the store near our house, and so we all went in for some stuff. "I waaaaaaant a moooooovieeeeee!" No, OmegaDotter, remember this morning? "But I waaaaaaaant iiiiiiit!" Sorry, kiddo; we told you this morning no movies today, because you were so badly behaved about it this morning. BAM! And yet another installment, which entailed OmegaDad carrying a screeching, flailing demon child out of the store, and John at the store laughing and saying, "Toby never does that. Neeeeeever!" (Toby is 4 years old as well.) Then John and Pat and the other neighbor commiserate. And OmegaDad and I sit in the car with a screaming, flailing, out-of-control child until she calms down enough to get into the carseat. Lordy, lordy. We know it's a stage. We know it's normal. But the dotter simply loses it, and can't pull herself out. Life is tough for four-year-olds. You have to start learning about "civilized behavior". You have to learn to start behaving nicely around other people, or they just won't want to have you around. You have to start moving from your nice, safe cocoon of babyhood and into the big, wide world around you. Lest you think this is OmegaMom being snotty, let me confess: I can remember being ten years old, and throwing one tantrum apiece at each set of grandparents' houses. What I remember most is that both grandmothers, pressed to the limit by the tantrums, informed me that if I ever behaved like that again, I would not be welcome there any more. (It obviously left an impression on me!) So if OmegaMom was still able to become demon-possessed at that late stage in the game, it seems pretty fair to say the Omega household will encounter days like this in the future.