Dallas, Texas
"I think somebody's getting tired", making a general remark as she removed John Ross from his highchair and attempted to calm his restlessness by allowing him to stand on her lap, Sue Ellen knew immediately that he was more than just 'getting tired' when he continued to grizzle and roughly stomped his feet on her. "No", using a firm tone of voice, she attempted to hold eye contact with him, at the same time clamping one hand down onto his feet, effectively stopping him from moving, though all her actions seemed to do was upset him more, because as soon as she spoke and moved, he burst into tears, in turn breaking her heart. Hearing his piercing screams and feeling his small body shaking as his emotions reverberated through him, all thoughts of having to correct his behaviour disappeared and were replaced with a deep maternal need to comfort him. He was still young, not quite a year old yet, but he wasn't insentient or immobile; he had thoughts and emotions, and he was beginning to resemble a toddler more each day; he was still her little boy, but he wasn't so small and helpless anymore that any form of discipline or behaviour correction was unsuitable. Unfortunately, just because he was somewhat able to understand the sternness in her voice when she said 'no' and he had a general idea of what it meant when someone physically restrained him or attempted to redirect him, didn't mean he was mature enough to completely control himself, and didn't mean he didn't still push the boundaries, deliberately or not. Unfortunately too, although she knew she was his mother and it was her job to teach him the difference between right and wrong, and what was acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and that if she raised him right, one day he would thank her, didn't mean she found the process easy.
Holding John Ross close to her chest as he wailed, likely more from overtiredness now than as a result of her 'disciplining' him, she looked at JR gratefully as he reached over and softly stroked their son's hair and back; there wasn't that much that could be done to immediately calm John Ross, but every little bit of support helped. "Mama, daddy, thank you for dinner; I think perhaps it's time to take John Ross home now though". Making eye contact with her husband as he spoke, Sue Ellen knew it hurt him just as much as it did her to see their son distressed, but she also knew that he was nearing his level of tolerance as a son, brother, and cousin himself, and she didn't blame him. He had agreed to come to dinner because it was the polite thing to do and it showed he was willing to make an effort to participate in mending damaged relationships, however, he hadn't really wanted to come and she had promised him earlier that they wouldn't have to stay all night. She had also mentioned to him that they could use John Ross' bedtime as an excuse to leave, it wasn't even really an excuse anymore now though, John Ross was hysterical and needed to sleep, everyone could see that.
Hearing Jock clear his throat to respond, Sue Ellen suddenly became aware of exactly what she had just thought; John Ross was hysterical and everyone was watching them; of course, everyone knew what life with a baby was like, so nobody was surprised by his emotional state, but everyone was watching to see what happened next. "Nonsense JR, it's still early; John Ross can sleep in the nursery upstairs for a couple of hours, then you can take him home". Listening to Jock's response, she didn't quite have the energy to argue with him about staying for a longer period, John Ross' seemed to be getting louder, his face wetter, and he was growing more restless every second. At this point, she knew that whether he fell asleep at Southfork or at home was irrelevant, it was time for bed, as soon as possible, before that though, he needed to be removed from the bright, noisy, stimulating environment of the dinner table. With that in mind, she carefully stood, made very brief eye contact with JR, Miss Ellie, and Jock in an effort to explain what was best for John Ross was immediate removal from the situation, and then silently left the dining room, ascending the stairs as quickly as she could while still watching her footing.
Turning the small lamp rather than the main overhead light on, so the room was relatively dark compared to the rest of the house, she then closed the nursery door behind her and began to gently rub John Ross' back, though with his restlessness it wasn't easy to soothe him. After a few minutes though, his heavy sobbing began to subside and she laid him down on his changing table to begin to prepare him for bed. "Sue Ellen?" hearing a soft knock and JR saying her name from the other side of the door, she simply responded, "I'm just changing him, come in". Not turning around, because she was experienced enough to know better than to divert her attention with an open diaper in front of her, she noted the sound of the door closing behind JR and then he was next to her.
"I know you want to leave, and I hate the way your daddy speaks to you sometimes, but please, don't fight me on this, he's exhausted and if we can get him to fall asleep here then we shouldn't have a problem getting him in the car and back home soon enough". Not looking up at JR as she worked in an almost mechanical fashion, changing John Ross' diaper, removing his dinner clothes, dressing him in his pyjamas, wiping his face, and deciding against attempting to brush his few teeth, she was surprised when JR then brushed against her and leant down to pick up their son. Naturally, he acted lovingly toward John Ross, but she was surprised at how calm he seemed with her; she had avoided looking at him because she didn't want to see how her comment upset him, but it appeared it hadn't actually upset him at all.
"I'm not going to fight you, I hate the way my daddy speaks to me sometimes too, but I happen to agree with what he said, not the bit about staying another few hours, but what he said after you rushed out of the room. I don't know what you said to him earlier, whatever it was though, you made an impression. He thinks you're marvellous…" leaving his comment hanging, because it was too much to get into with John Ross around and even just generally, because he'd never been great at just coming straight out and expressing his vulnerable emotions, JR looked up at his wife and hoped she understood what he meant. Sue Ellen was a great help to him, there was nothing more important to her than their family and she made it one of her goals to really do what was right for them; simply by being herself she managed to assist him with one of Doctor Williams' goals, facilitating relationships with his family. Sue Ellen pushed him when he needed to be pushed, encouraged him when he needed encouragement, comforted him when he needed comfort, and always loved him, even when he was in a foul mood or wronged her.
Before JR could get too sentimental about his life though, John Ross brought him back to reality, screaming loudly in protest as he promptly dropped the stuffed bear he had handed him as they walked around the room. His son was definitely exhausted and Sue Ellen was right, sleep, anywhere, even Southfork, was what he needed right now.
To be continued…