Conflict Resolution

The other day Ben was really mad at me. I don't remember why--I think we probably laughed at something he didn't want us to laugh at. I happened to have my camera sitting next to me, and snapped the progression--from yelling, to threatening, to ignoring, to all is right with the world. It's really interesting living with a 5-almost-6-year-old sometimes. He's trying so hard to understand the world--to understand humor, to understand the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, to understand where he stands in the family and in the world. There were, of course, many words exchanged between us at each stage of the above. The thing that finally won a smile was a contest between us--I was snapping pictures as he was moving his head back and forth--he thought he was moving too fast for me to catch his face, and he liked the fact that he was "thwarting" my efforts to catch a picture. By the end he was laughing and all was right with the world again. I love this series of pictures. It reminds me that, even though we have our (sometimes very) trying times, there's often a smile at the end.
Happy Saturday!