Up, Down, And Back Up

We had a really good spring break last week -- playdates, running dates, fun dinners... it was (mostly) a laugh a minute. I dare say that I felt smug about how well our week went when I heard moans from other parents at school drop off this morning about how loooong last week felt. Well, today, was the day that karma came calling and kicked the smugness right back to last Tuesday. Today... It. was. the. exact. opposite.

What started this morning with a fight about who was going to pretty a pair of Mary Janes with pink flowers to school, continued with Molly answering my question of "what's making you so grumpy?" with "YOU are making me grumpy, mama" (lessons re-learned: don't ask if you don't want the answer and don't ask stupid questions), and the train kept right on going this afternoon with pants and diapers being deemed offensive and getting removed, someone wanting me to sit and read to her, and her alone, and leave her brother to fend for himself for several hours, discovering that one her dolls was in her *gasp* pajamas and NEEDED TO BE DRESSED IN CLOTHES RIGHT NOW, shrieking eagle cries at dinner interspersed with repeated announcements that tummies hurt, someone really wanting to assert his independence by serving himself... oh, the list continues and listening to me whine about it doesn't really change things (but it sort of helps for me to laugh about it now).

I have this magnet of my refrigerator that says something along the lines of "when children are at their worst, they need you the most". Apparently, I was really, really, REALLY needed today. I'm not winning any mommy of the day awards, and the only good news is that the only person who ended up in a timeout was me and a little HGTV worked temporary wonders... those Property Brothers are miracle workers.

We have these days. Bedtime eventually comes. People crawl into your lap for snuggles, memories are short, little voices sing funny songs, little girls whisper sweet things to you, baby faces drift off to sleep... a cup of tea and a glass of vino finish erasing the tension and the whole shebang is eventually in the books. Because, at the end of the day, we are responsible for molding these little lives. It doesn't mean that all their behavior is excusable or that we don't get frustrated repeating the same thing over and over, but we can't quit. We can't give up and we can't throw in the towel. Some days we can hide in the kitchen but we can't move in there forever. We have to make those little cherubic sleeping faces the last thing we think about at night and not the grab-and-run with toys that Jack has perfected. We have to drift off to dreamland hearing laughter and "I love yous" and not "YOU make me grumpy". It's our job to cope as best we can in the moment and to always, ALWAYS, remember how sweet those baby faces look when they're dreaming. And then, like magic, it's all good.

It's also always helpful to have pictures of good times... sometimes we can't be in the good moments but we can look back at them. We had a good trip to Bainbridge Island and beyond this weekend. And for the record, Molly asked to wear a bathing suit, I denied her request, and the following occurred...









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