Well I started my night crying out of frustration and ended it with a whole different set of tears.
After a long day at work and my hour-long commute across the city for daycare pick up, my eldest decided to greet me with a tantrum. For her, routine is everything, so the transition back to school after a long weekend was hitting her hard.
We got home, and that’s when tempers flared and emotions ran high. It started with a little sass, then came the naughty just to spite me, and it finished with down-right rudeness. I tried reasoning, warnings, time-out, and finally resorted to taking her favorite doll and placing it high on the self in my closet and cancelling any chance she had of watching Disney Junior that night. These idle threats meant nothing; before I knew it, she had been sent to her room and I was crying in the kitchen.
Just in time, my husband, the knight in shining plaid, came through the door and marched upstairs…in no time she was in jammies and off to bed with the promise of apologizing to Momma when we started things fresh in the morning.
We had a quieter than usual dinner for three, and then began the process of getting the little one to stay in her new big girl bed. I was probably on my fifth or sixth round of tucking her in when my phone buzzed. I looked down and it was Facebook telling me my husband had tagged me in a post. He is always tagging me in recipes he finds so, I ignored it and continued the bedtime battle of wills.
When I finally sat down for the evening, not an ounce of patience left, I looked at my husband’s post and started to cry. It wasn’t a recipe at all, it was a heart-string-tugging quote about a mother’s love for her child. I immediately started crying again, but this time it was due to the overwhelming love I felt for my kids {temper tantrums and all} and for my supportive husband. The quote even had a religious undertone to it, and if you knew my husband, you’d know that’s real love because church-y type things are not his forte…
A baby asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?” God said, “Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.” The baby asked, “Who will protect me?” God said, “Your angel will defend you even if it means risking her life.” The baby said, “God, please tell me my angel’s name.” God said, “You will simply call her Mommy.” – Unknown
So, as I sat bursting with emotion, all I wanted to do was hug my babies and my husband {but by that time they were all sleeping}. I now know that love is sending a child to her room so things don’t escalate to the point where she is grounded from TV until high school. Love is having the patience to out-will a two year old at bedtime so she gets used to the new routine {and doesn’t end up as exhausted as her sister}. And love is sometimes simply knowing when Mom just needs a hug!
Patricia
Surviving motherhood, gracefully! I am a mom, work full-time and, am a blogger! I share my trial and error tips for Surviving Motherhood, Gracefully! Being a parent can sometimes, well a lot of the time, be very challenging! So, I like to let other moms and dads know they aren’t alone…We are all just trying our best to raise happy, healthy, and “normal” kids in between the laundry, cooking and well, life! Blog | Facebook
This hits home today. Thanks for the boost. I beat myself up on the days I don’t feel I am my best mom self.
This is exactly what I needed right now. The demands of being a new mom feel quite heavy lately and I don’t feel totally understood by my husband but I also don’t feel much like I understand myself these days to be honest. Thank you for this virtual hug, it means the world right now!