Some days I have a meltdown before the kids wake up in the morning. The elderly cat is still vomiting all over my life, my house is extra gross, the kids WON’T GO TO BED EVER then are super terribly grumpy the next morning and have multiple meltdowns about all of the things, I hate my frizzy, crappy hair, we spent all of our money on an emergency propane tank fill and a vet bill and new glasses, the 2yo is not adjusting well to the new daycare, we’ve all been sick with the inevitable germs from the new daycare, I never get to spend any time with my husband because DID I MENTION THAT MY KIDS WON’T GO TO BED, there are so many jobs that need to be done on our house that will help to make it less gross but we never seem to get around to them because weekends get busy and when we’re not busy we’re just tired, and sometimes it feels like all my kids eat is sugar and when I give them their vitamins to assuage my guilt it turns into a fight because the 4yo gets two while the 2yo only gets one and THAT’S NOT FAIR.
Other days I get my hair cut for the first time in forever, the cat throws up a giant plastic sticker and suddenly seems to be okay again, daycare drop-off occurs without any tears for the first time, my new glasses make me feel fancy, we try out a new bedtime routine that doesn’t result in any magical changes but does end up with less yelling, my husband and I get an evening with fewer interruptions, one child licked a stalk of broccoli, we made a new plan for getting some of the work on our house done, and our bank account doesn’t immediately scream desperation.
This can all happen in the space of 48 hours. Parenting is a roller coaster and one of the things I’ve learned is that sometimes you just need to embrace the chaos and be okay with not being okay for a while. I yell at my kids, I snap at my husband, I grump at my colleagues, I kick the vomiting cat (NOT REALLY), and sometimes I rage-cry into the sky. But then I pull myself together, give everyone a hug (cat included), and bake some cookies. My kids will hopefully learn from me that it’s okay to be mad and/or sad sometimes, and that also maybe they should just stop talking for one second and eat their breakfast before my head actually explodes. And if nothing else, I hope we’ve all learned today that you shouldn’t let your cat eat a sticker.
