I had one of those mornings where Number 6 was kind of high maintenance.
He’s usually pretty good about occupying himself for a little bit if I need to get something done.
Not today.
Today he was causing trouble.
He wouldn’t leave me alone, and especially with Thanksgiving approaching, I had a to-do list that was a mile long.
I’m stressed and a little low on patience right now.
Ok.
A lot low on patience.
At times like these, it’s still really easy for me to get sucked into that panic mode.
The mode where the line between what I want to get done and what absolutely needs to get done is very blurry.
The mode where I have convinced myself that every single thing is urgent.
I still forget that taking a break isn’t going to mean the world will end.
I still forget sometimes that Number 6 is only four.
I really forgot this today, and to be honest, I couldn’t wait to get him to preschool.
I dropped him off in his classroom, watched him hang up his coat, and motioned for him to hurry up and give me a kiss.
I rushed out of the building.
It was raining.
And as I headed toward my car, I saw a mom and her son.
They were walking across the parking lot.
They weren’t walking to their car.
In fact, they were walking in the opposite direction of their car.
Straight toward a puddle.
And then, as they got really close to it, the mom’s son took a big wind up and jumped right into the middle of the puddle.
The mom didn’t yell.
She didn’t grab her kid by the arm, drag him toward the car, and scold him for getting his clothes wet.
She did not, through a clenched jaw and gritted teeth, say “Didn’t I just tell you not to jump in that puddle???”
Nope.
Do you know what she did instead?
She looked at her son, smiled, and said, “YOU PICKED A GOOD ONE!”
And then the little boy looked up at his mom, grabbed her hand, and they headed toward their car.
It could have been a coincidence that I witnessed this little moment just as I dropped off Number 6 for the afternoon.
But I don’t think so.
I felt a little guilty, but I won’t beat myself up.
Instead, the next time I pick him up when it’s raining, I don’t think we’ll walk directly to the car.
I think first, we’re gonna take a little detour and head straight toward a really good puddle.
Thanks for sharing. Just this one post helped me more than you know.
Oh, thank you Michele. It’s easy to forget what really matters sometimes. For me it is, anyway.
I almost cried after reading this. Especially tonight, after a day full of raising my voice, losing my mind, and passing guilt on my two boys. And for what… I admire such mothers, that didn’t forget child in them. I will try to make difference tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder.
That was a great story. As much as it was a self realization for you, you have to remember that every situation is different, and that she may not have a Number 6 who was acting a bit more rowdy than usual on a rainy (sucky?) day close to the holidays. I’ll tell you, as a 22 year old guy with three other brothers all close in age, I know there were times when my mom couldn’t wait to drop us off at school or our grandparent’s house. Who could blame a parent? But the important thing is that we all love her more than anyone else in our lives, and now we laugh at those memories when we know we pushed the limits too far. Wanting to get away from your kids but still doing everything necessary for them, with love, will make your kids love you even more! Good job, mom! Keep it up.