Woah! Happy Monday! Was I the only one ready to come back to work today? I wanted to post quick about something that happened over the weekend. My husband was gone for three nights and over the weekend so by Sunday I was pretty burned out. My kids were nuts on Saturday afternoon and I had to take them to the grocery store. By the time we left, my daughter was throwing a fit on the floor because I had counted to 3 and she earned herself a consequence and everyone (for real) was looking at me and the kids like I was unfit and they were monsters. You know that look, right?
As we left the store, I looked at all the other people checking out and shrugged my shoulders as if was saying “Those darn kids” and confidently strolled out of the store. But truthfully, I was exhausted and embarrassed and confused why my children were so hellbent on making our lives so much more chaotic and annoying than necessary. That was the narrative I had in my head which isn’t true but it was there.
So fast forward to Sunday morning, I knew we just needed a chill morning. I cancelled plans to meet a friend at the farmer’s market and instead I relaxed and cleaned and the kids played until we got our Sunday Starbucks and donuts and went to a nearby low key park. While we were at the grocery store getting our donuts, my kids were running down the aisles, screaming happily, chasing each other and just all around bursting full of energy. I was in go with the flow Mom mode just counting down the minutes until I would be sitting at the park reading my magazine and sipping my cinnamon dolce latte. We got the donuts and were checking out and one of the cashiers said “What did you do to make those kids so happy?” I started tearing up. She continued by saying “They are bringing so many smiles to so many people’s faces and you aren’t even noticing.” She was a sweet older woman and meant no harm by her observation but she was right. I was just trying to get out of the store. And because of the experience we had the night before, I was just trying to get out of the store without anyone giving me disapproving looks because of how rowdy my kids were. The funny thing is, I generally DO NOT care what people think of me but when it comes to people judging my parenting or my children (it’s really just my perception they are judging because no one has ever told me I am not a good parent or that my kids are naughty or anything similar) it really bothers me. So anyways, back to Sunday and donuts- What she said in that moment completely changed my perspective of what was going on. She was right. They are just happy and they were last night too. They were hyper but happy. Seeing it through that lens made it so much more enjoyable and I felt like a great Mom. Ya, MY KIDS ARE HAPPY and I must have something to do with that!
The Imperfect Mama and Therapist 