The Gift of Perspective
If you've been following my blog and facebook posts, and if you know me well enough to be able to read between the lines, you know that the last few weeks have pushed my parenting to the limits. Between sickness, rainy days, stress over selling a house, etc, these have been some rough weeks. I know I've lost my temper. More than once. I know most of the guys in our building have probably heard my battle against preschool wills through our apartment door. It's both humbling and frustrating to parent cranky kids with an audience, but here we are. I thought it was just my kids. That somehow their sweet little personalities had given way to Jekyll and Hyde and they were conspiring to make my life miserable.
And then the sweet, sweet gift of perspective. Friends whose children have also been monsters and they aren't afraid to admit it. We went to our MOPS open gym this morning to let the kids run off energy. Several of us moms pulled up chairs and watched as our kids played and laughed and ran off every last ounce of cabin fever. We took deep breaths as we sat down and gave each other that knowing, "this has been a week for the record books!" look that only another mom of a preschooler in February can give. We speculated on the reasons why things have been rough--the weather, the lack of snow to play in, sickness, or just being preschool-aged. But in the end, we agreed that all of our kids were normal, that surely a whole generation of preschoolers couldn't be rising up conspiring against us, and that this, too, shall pass when the sun shines again and the kids are free to be free. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to know that I'm not alone! Not that it brings much comfort to know that we're all fighting these fights, but it's not just my kids. I'm not losing them. Or my mind. Yet, anyway. I looked at them around the table at lunch and thought, "What sweet little kids. No wonder they're cranky. Everyone's cranky. How could I have thought they were monsters just two hours ago?" Yes, the shift was about that dramatic.
And so, I go into the trenches again refreshed and reassured that my parenting is not to blame, nor are my children. It may be any number of factors contributing to the challenges of the last few weeks, but we are not alone, and we are not abnormal. Now if only the sun would shine again...
And then the sweet, sweet gift of perspective. Friends whose children have also been monsters and they aren't afraid to admit it. We went to our MOPS open gym this morning to let the kids run off energy. Several of us moms pulled up chairs and watched as our kids played and laughed and ran off every last ounce of cabin fever. We took deep breaths as we sat down and gave each other that knowing, "this has been a week for the record books!" look that only another mom of a preschooler in February can give. We speculated on the reasons why things have been rough--the weather, the lack of snow to play in, sickness, or just being preschool-aged. But in the end, we agreed that all of our kids were normal, that surely a whole generation of preschoolers couldn't be rising up conspiring against us, and that this, too, shall pass when the sun shines again and the kids are free to be free. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to know that I'm not alone! Not that it brings much comfort to know that we're all fighting these fights, but it's not just my kids. I'm not losing them. Or my mind. Yet, anyway. I looked at them around the table at lunch and thought, "What sweet little kids. No wonder they're cranky. Everyone's cranky. How could I have thought they were monsters just two hours ago?" Yes, the shift was about that dramatic.
And so, I go into the trenches again refreshed and reassured that my parenting is not to blame, nor are my children. It may be any number of factors contributing to the challenges of the last few weeks, but we are not alone, and we are not abnormal. Now if only the sun would shine again...
