My kid is not normal

My kid is not normal. He has always gone with the flow and was never really defiant. Then he turned 5 1/2 and everything changed. I think what happened is he became aware of his weaknesses. His self esteem hits the floor, he gets whiny and doesn't want to try the minute it gets difficult. A year ago this behavior would have never happened. He would have asked for help...like a normal kid. Today I sat on the floor with him and we practiced writing letters on the chalkboard. He is writing away and having fun...until we try a letter he doesn't know how to write. BAM! Here comes the frustration and the whining. "I want to draw a train!" and so on. It takes the perfect balance between praise and pushing him to do his best to get results from him. Is this normal? I don't know. He is my first born so compared to him a year ago it doesn't seem normal. Or was my "normal" kid from a year ago the not so normal kid? Or is the real question: is there a such thing as a normal kid?

How do you define normal? Maybe, well-adjusted is a better word. But how many times have you found yourself in a situation where your normal kid is the complete opposite of normal/well adjusted? How many times has your "not the emotional one" totally lost it because you put a cup in the wrong cup holder. I mean really?!? I totally expect this from "the emotional one" or the baby but not "go with the flow one". The most frustrating part is what works for the one that usually breaks down over small things doesn't work for the cup holder melt down one. I mean, I only have so many tricks in my bag. It is almost like they pull these shenanigans just to see how you react and what you can come up with next.

The behavior I see in him when the writing and coloring gets hard is very sad to me. When did 5 become the age that normal behavior is to think you have to be perfect? He has cried over coloring and writing but can spend hours fixing something broken and not get frustrated or beat himself up. He really feels like a failure when he can't write a letter correctly or color in the lines. This has bled over into every day life too. Remember the cup holder melt down? The new normal is sad. I like the happy-go-lucky 4 year old that was proud of his coloring even if it wasn't perfect.

I miss my normal kid...until I see him draw what looks like scribbling and then his personality, creativity and intelligence really shines. "This is a train. Here are the wheels, the seats and lights. The conductor is on the back and the engineer is up front. It's going backwards because my train can. Don't forget to the blow the horn!". But I asked you to write your brother's name...and so I will take my not so normal kid and worry about writing his brother's name another day.