On a scale of 1 -10 in the parenting department today, I would give myself an F-.
All patience had left the building before all the kids even got on the school bus.
I didn’t just fall off the yelling wagon, I pretty much took a running start and set a world record in the long jump off the wagon.
Okay, it wasn’t that bad.
But I definitely yelled at the kids today. More than once.
I do feel good that they all looked at me like Holy shit, what the hell happened to Mom? because that means they really, really, REALLY aren’t used to hearing me yell.
Anyway, I’m not beating myself up over it.
Because I know what pushed me over the edge.
It was a whole bunch of things, but one is that I need to reset my clock and start getting my work done in the morning.
Because having it hanging over my head at night is turning me into a mom I don’t want to be.
The kids have been sucky the last couple days.
I’d like to blame it all on them, but it comes from the top.
At least part of it does.
But they were so bad tonight when we got home from Number 3’s baseball game that after I couldn’t take it anymore I told them if I wasn’t the only adult in the house, I would get in my car and drive far, far away.
That didn’t go over very well with most of them.
I had to get them all into bed. Immediately. They all went right into their rooms for fear I was going to peel out of the driveway at any second.
I went into Number 6 and 7’s room and got them settled, and then I went into Number 3, 4, and 5’s room.
The lights were out, Number 5 had passed out in her bed, and Number 3 was giving me the silent treatment.
I went over to Number 4’s bed.
“Are you asleep?” I asked her.
“Nope, I’m awake as usual!” she said.
“I’m sorry about today, Mom,” she said to me.
“Yeah, today was not one of my best days,” I said to her.
“Well tomorrow is a new day, Mom! I love you.”
And she gave me a kiss and a hug and rolled over.
Clearly I hadn’t traumatized her.
And like I said, I’m not beating myself up.
I just need to hit the reset button, and I have a couple changes to make.
And if you had a shitty parenting day today, I’m just reminding you that you aren’t alone.
They happen to all of us.
And luckily, we have Number 4 to remind us all that tomorrow is a new day.
I’m trying soooo hard to stop yelling I have deff cut back a LOT just some days they really manage to slap EVERY button on my board an I loose it … but I’m getting better ????
I’ve never left a comment before, but this post really resonated with me. I read your blog because you’re a hilarious writer, and I actually try to employ some of your parenting tactics in my classroom (I’m a high school science teacher, but at the end of the day a kid is a kid, 7 or 17). Anyway, when I was growing up my dad traveled for work A LOT so my mom took care of me and my two siblings by herself most of the time. She used to have what we now call “Thursday night meltdowns.” You could set your clock by them. My brother, sister and I are all in our 20s now, and it’s one of our best parent anecdotes that always makes us laugh. Just reading your post made me chuckle and I had to send it to them! And we turned out great if I do say so myself. So when you’re having a bad day, definitely don’t beat yourself up about it, just tell yourself you’re giving the kids ammo to tell hilarious “remember when mom was crazy?” stories around the dinner table at future family get togethers. 🙂