As a mother, I definitely have days where I want to scream (and I do) and either pull all of my hair out and toss my kids out the window. Of course I do not actually do this.
I read something somewhere (maybe Parents magazine) that said, instead of yelling, leave the room. Walk out, take a moment and a deep breath and then, when you’re ready go back in and face the crazy kid who is upset and whining and driving you crazy.
What I’ve personally realized though is the kid is whining for a reason. Find out what’s wrong. Hungry? Tired? Need a new diaper? Trying to do something that he/she can’t do on their own and they need help? And it can usually be fixed and made better immediately. If not, I’m sorry, then I got nothing for you.
My moments of clarity are usually when I am blowdrying my oldest daughter’s hair at night, after bath time. She has long, thick, beautiful hair (and will not allow us to cut it). Having the Disney movie Tangled (with Rapunzel) come out didn’t help at all. During that 10-15 minutes with her, I reflect back on the day, and although I am usually dead beat tired, I feel ok.
I also definitely have moments of clarity when I see either of them sleeping. Oh God, I love it when they are sleeping. Not only because I finally have peace and quiet but because they look so peaceful and angelic and still. Certainly not like the wild and crazy kid who was kicking and screaming four hours earlier because she didn’t want to come inside and eat dinner or the kid who went into hysteria because you took away that piece of candy that she found from God knows where in the study.
Thank the Lord we have moments of clarity. I don’t even want to imagine what life would be like without them.
