Some of my best friends will tell you I’m pretty laid back. Even when it comes to my kids. I try my best to always keep the “kids will be kids” mantra at the forefront of my mind. My kids regularly remove numerous spices and baking supplies from the cabinets and pantry to create a recipe that NO ONE wants to eat. Forts are a regular occurrence in my living room. Toddler throwing a fit in the store? I ignore it and smile at the onlookers – just did that this morning, actually. I usually just shrug my shoulders and let it go – Elsa style (without turning everyone to ice, although that is a thought…)
But sometimes those little buggers test my patience to the max. And usually it’s not any one thing, it’s a culmination of factors that lead to the perfect storm. Yesterday was one of those days. I thought about starting this post with: yesterday was a hard day. But that’s not true. Yesterday was not hard. I had a great day. I watched the girls play with their babies, got some things crossed off my to-do list, ran some errands, and the house didn’t get turned upside down. It wasn’t until dinnertime that everything seemed to go awry. I sent my sister a snapchat at 5:45 asking if it was bedtime yet.
I had a friend coming over for dinner and to hang out and watch junk TV since my husband’s out of town. When she arrived, I vaguely remember murmuring something about Bloody Mary’s. Truth is, some days, it’s nothing and everything at the same time that can turn your mood upside down. I went from feeling great about the day to feeling like I had a one way ticket to the hot mess express. And worse off, I had an outside witness to the train wreck.
I was frustrated, at my wits end, and looking back today I am left feeling as if it wasn’t that bad. 12 hours later, I can’t think of anything specific that was causing my distress, outside of my toddler being particularly clingy. Yet, I was helping the boys put together a toy from Christmas and I was one failed attempt at castle construction away from losing my mind.
I simply had to remove myself from the situation for a bit to truly appreciate the meaning of those “hard days”. Maybe it’s a coincidence that I got a pillow inscribed with “Enjoy the little things” yesterday. Or perhaps not. Here’s what I realized today while debating if I should call and apologize to my friend for pushing her in front of the crazy train. Instead of focusing on my lost patience, short, snippy responses to my kids, and wonderment over what my friend must have thought, I choose to reflect on the memories of my girls playing and my nearly empty laundry room. Don’t let a crazy day, bad hour, or less than ideal week cloud your feelings about your day, week, month, or motherhood journey altogether. ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS.