The Image of Deception

People don't believe me when I say Theo can be a little monster. He is the picture of perfect behavior when he's with other people.

This weekend I took Theo to a kid-friendly Italian restaurant with my mother-in -law, John, and Gianna, before going to see my beautiful cutie-pie niece in the Nutcracker. Joe was working, unfortunately.

Anyway, Theo was ever the good boy - used the restaurant's toilet, washed his hands, and ate his meal plus Gianna's giant meatball (Gianna wrote "Theo likes meatballs" when we played hangman). John and Gianna left, and Joe's mom went to the ladies room for five minutes. During that five minutes, I tried to put on Theo's jacket. He crawled under the table, removed his shoes, screamed and shrieked and cried as though I was sticking a hatchet into his skull. I, by force, had just gotten his shoes back on and his sobs to subside when mama came back to our table. It was as though nothing had happened.

I think I should invite Theo's teachers, grandparents, and babysitters to come live with us so he never throws a tantrum again.