Friday, March 9, 2012

a simple truth about parenting

it never fails.
after a few hours of 
screaming 
yelling
and a lot of this sort of action:
i am ready to throw the towel in on parenting.

i feel like i can maintain calm, rational, loving parenting for only so long... 
through only so many meltdowns, screamfests and temper tantrums, 
and then i kind of tailspin from patient and kind mommy into a power struggle with small humans.

i end up trying to convince my daughters that they should listen to me,
stop attacking each other or steal each other's toys,
stop screaming long enough to actually listen to what i am saying;
you get the drift.

it can make for some very long days, these small people with big opinions.
i know it is all a part of them coming out of their cocoons so to speak; 
it is their way of growing up and learning boundaries and appropriate and healthy ways of being,
but that doesn't mean i don't want to throw in the towel some days.

and then?
it never fails.
after a morning of screaming, crying, and tantrums and sibling selfishness,
just as i am ready to mail my children to uzbekistan,
they do a 180 and suddenly morph into loving sisters, attentive daughters, and delightful human beings.
JUST as i am at my limit- actually, sometimes a bit past my limit.
and moments after being DONE with all that falls into the mommying category,
my own precious girls woo me right back in to adoring them.
with one sweet little hug or smile or sister moment i am right back into loving being a mom again.
it kills me.
they are so freaking smart those little people.
(don't you just want to eat them up? i do.)

5 comments:

  1. I am currently at Part A of this blog post. Not at the cute part yet. Naptime. It sounds so nice--but really is only nice when napping is occurring during naptime.

    (I did experience Part B yesterday--exact same as you described above. At my limit--they turn lovable.)

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  2. I just love the crying face of Ruby... of course my nerves are not raw from the sounds that go with it!

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  3. so. freaking. cute.
    and i so get you.

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  4. Amen, sister .
    You are such a wonderful and inspiring mom. The girls are cutiepies-to-the-max and seeing their sibling-ness makes me SO excited about seeing V+L grow up together. (Please note I'm focusing on the lovefest part of sibling-ness. ;)

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  5. Oh, Ben can *exhaust* me sometimes. I'm having a lot of luck with a new book I've been reading called "How to talk so you children will listen and listen so your children will talk", by Adele Faber and somebody else. Refreshingly practical and common sense.

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