"This too shall pass"

Kenny has entered a new stage of The Two's and this stage is not so easily dealt with like it was in the beginning. His daily routine changed a few months ago due to some setbacks in my life and I slowly began to see some changes in him. His attitudes began to get worse, and he began to act out at every opportunity. The teachers at his daycare for example, started telling me more frequently that he was hitting other children and not responding to their methods of discipline ( which is basically none btw ). Well, hitting his friends has escalated to hitting children he doesn't even know. He whacked a little girl at church this morning across the face with a bag of grapes and I about lost my mind. Yes, the child is two. Yes, this is a normal stage ( so I've been told ) and " this too shall pass". Well, as I told my friend today, he better pass it soon because he won't have much of a butt left if he doesn't. Parenting is one of the hardest, if not THE hardest job anyone can ever take on. Single parenting is even harder. Because while I try my best to instill all aspects of discipline, love, firmness and all that good stuff, there are some things that I can't handle like a daddy can. All Kenny's dad has to do is look at him and he stops whatever he is doing. But when he's with me it's the complete opposite. I say up, Kenny says down. I say stop and he keeps doing it. I spank him and it's like it doesn't even phase him. What the heck dude? I guess I now understand when my parents said " just wait till you have a child of your own....then you'll understand." Yeah...I understand alright. I understand the importance of nap times, earplugs and chocolate. Oddly enough, after battling the will of my little hooligan all day and hearing nothing but " Mommmmmy juuuuuice! * pout * or " Mommmmmy watch teeeeeeeeeeeveeeeeeeeeee" * POUT* he was a joy 30 min before bedtime and we had a great time tickling and being silly. It's the 30 minutes of joy that help make the 23.5 hours of strongwills and whining bearable. Children are a blessing, and moments with them are fleeting. Pretty soon he won't want to have anything to do with me or tickling my belly button.....so I guess I better suck it up and take the good with the bad. It's just one of those days I guess....nothing that some chocolate and Detective Stabler won't cure...Law and Order here I come.