Competition Hell

Just now, my girls put on shirts they haven't worn in a year. Their daddy made a big deal of it, because he happens to really like the shirts. Everything was lovely. They felt fashionable and chic and cute and happy.

Then it started. One noticed that her jeans were lighter than the other one's jeans. Even though they normally prefer lighter jeans, just now, this one decided she liked the darker jeans better. So much so that she was going to change her whole outfit. Even though we were just about to go out to dinner.

My kids seem to like to be miserable about something, anything, rather than be happy for more than two seconds at a time. If their equilibrium shifts too far to happiness, if they've received too many compliments, if anything at all has changed from the status quo, they will find a reason to fight and tantrum over it in some kind of fit of competitiveness, as if what the one has will never be equal to what the other has. As if somehow one has been slighted.

They live in a state of constant fear and panic that one of them will get more than the other or have a better experience than the other. And to that end, they'd rather make themselves the most sorry, miserable things than have a good time themselves.

Just.

Why.