Thanks, all, for the support. We did go to the park because we had made a commitment to another family to be there (they had gone to another park outing where no one showed so the mom was worried). Pud came up with his own punishment - 3 extra chores, which he actually did as well as his regular daily chore. He actually didn't want to go to the park, he wanted to stay home and play chess with me, but I had said "yes" to this other mom so I felt we needed to go. I didn't tell him we wouldn't go to the park, but I did tell him I wasn't sure I would take him to karate class. But, he did 1 1/2 of his chores before karate and asked nicely for help so I took him.
I was able to talk to him about it. He said "I just didn't have enough time to decide what I wanted to eat". (Processing speed?) I think he is so big physically and so intelligent that I forget what a 6 year old needs. It's so easy to treat him like he is 10 or 11. So, we talked about how his behaviour affects other people (ie, the PT's schedule was now off because I had to reschedule, I felt bad because I was looking forward to our day together, sometimes I need to get places at a certain time and he needs to go along with that, etc.). He was perfectly well behaved the rest of the day. We had a few minutes of snuggle time here and there but it was a day where he didn't want to sit still. So, all in all, not a terrible day but not the peaceful interactions I had hoped for when I kept him home from school. He was emotional all day, his karate teacher noted it. He didn't do anything wrong, she said, she could just see something in his eyes.
I don't think he is getting sick. He's been eating everything in sight, so it is more likely that he's heading into yet another growth spurt (at almost 7, he is 4' 3" and weighs about 65 pounds, off the charts almost all his life). Since the growth spurts are triggered by hormones, why wouldn't he be moody. Of course, it's impossible to think about all that. He also told me this afternoon that he wanted to start back on heartburn medication (he was on it for about 6 weeks in Nov-Dec) because he was hurting "there". So, I do need to call the doctor and find out whether to just put him back on the medicine or if we need to see a specialist to rule out any physical problem. I hate to put him on heartburn meds, he's only 6, that's too young to have stress-induced heartburn.
Everything turned out all right and I managed not to spill all to my husband, knowing he would lecture Pud to death. I think he learned a lesson, what with making up his own punishment and getting those things done, and making references to what happened like "we don't want that to happen again" or "that wasn't happy, was it?". Not hiding anything, just wanted to leave it without Daddy getting involved.
So, it turned into a mediocre day. I let him watch TV while he had his lunch because we both needed some chill time away from each other.
Just wanted to update you and let you know all is calm now. I hope we don't have another of these soon. I feel so helpless because all I can do is wait it out.
