In parenting, I have noticed there are periods of time (maybe 24 hours) when everything falls into place. Your kids stop whining and are mostly reasonable, you get enough sleep, you arrive to places on time, and you think to yourself, "I am pretty much the most amazing parent in the world. I should start advising people on parenting. This thing is a breeze." Inevitably the next morning you wake up to irrational little people who don't get that you really didn't sleep well and you do not think it's cool to see how loud you can scream. And sit down, and use your inside voice, and eat your breakfast, and don't clench your jaw while I'm helping brush your teeth.
 |
| Real life mess. Real life childrenz. |
I get wrapped up in being tired, being stressed out, and simply getting things done. Usually I don't even realize that I'm just going through the motions until weeks later. Things I have been saying a lot lately : "I'm so tired." "We're going to be late." "It's been a long day."
Tuesday mornings are fast and furious. S leaves for work and I have my two tiny sidekicks who need breakfast,a snack and lunch for L, teeth brushed, hair brushed and ready to go to preschool. Then I get myself ready for work and fed at the table if I am lucky. Most of the time I take a kind bar and a piece of fruit for the road. This is a normal morning five days a week for a lot of moms and dads. I do it ONCE a week and can rarely manage to get L to school on time.
We pulled into the parking lot today after a nice, but also late, morning, and I saw the other parents straggling to get their kids to class on time. I took a moment to reflect on me. I saw parents walking at paces that tiny legs were struggling to keep up with and I saw tiny faces being rushed here and there. And I wondered how many times I had been walking two steps in front of L rushing her in or out of this place or the other. I had the moment when I realized I've been going through the motions, getting from here to there, and it is time to be more present and more purposeful.
This is when I set my 24 hour reset button. It seems to put my life back in a better direction and helps me to realize how many small, insignificant things I am letting pull me down. Tonight I will go to bed and for the next 24 hours (or until I go to bed tomorrow) I will not complain. No talk about being tired or kids not napping or having too much to do. A day when I can reset myself and remind myself that I am in charge of what affects me. The things that affect me affect my family and my work. So this all comes back around to me again. It's an Oprah full circle moment, I promise.
I am a firm believer that you can't sit around waiting for other people to make you happy. YOU have to be the one to care about your happiness. You are in charge of you. That being said, living those beliefs is exhausting and it's a lesson I have to constantly remind myself of. A world without complaints is not realistic. People get angry, sad, upset, and hurt. Sometimes you need to GET IT OUT. That's why this is a 24 hour challenge and not a life challenge. Are you up for it?
I'm not asking you to find the joy in everything, although sometimes that kind of kumbaya is necessary. I'm just proposing that you take 24 hours to not complain and see if it's a positive or a negative in your life. This will be my third no complaining reset. So as my final complaint I would like for you to know that my almost three year old is trying really hard to no longer nap. And it's EXHAUSTING even though she stays in her room. We are in power struggle mode over here. I have been on the losing end. Something tells me after tomorrow things will get better.
But I'm not complaining or anything.
- RT
PS - We are still going strong on our VegOut Challenge! I have been posting daily pics of what is for breakfast, lunch or dinner on the Raising Texas Instagram account. Follow @RaisingTexas to follow along on my journey to show people that kids LOVE real foods! More food posts to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment