That's what we called him, almost from birth - Our Little Contrarian. I looked up contrarian just now to make sure it's a real word. Oh good, it is. I'm going with it, even though blogger is giving me that little red spell check line. There were times I thought it was a fake word we made up. An imagined creation. But it fit him so well. Him...our first born...little O.
We knew he was challenging. I made the comparisons with other kids, just like we all do. Challenging wasn't bad, it was one part of him. We took it along with his intelligence, his love of books, his curiosity about life and the wild outdoors. All kids are different, some more than others. But with O it was something...else.
If you were happy, he was mad. If you were mad, he was more mad. If the Easter Bunny brought him a basket, he avoided it for an hour. If he received awesome Christmas presents, he hid behind a chair. Once my parents looked after him for a weekend while my husband and I took a trip to Vegas. They met us in a deserted Barstow parking lot for the hand-off. O hides in my Dad's arms and won't look at his own parents. He's so happy to see us that he can't bear to come near us.
We're at the beginning of this journey. Well, not really the beginning, our journey started 7 1/2 years ago. But we're at the beginning of having a name for it. You're welcome to come along for the ride.
