I must be doing SOMETHING right ;)

So many days I feel like I am royally screwing up and not doing a great job parenting. I usually feel overwhelmed and at my breaking point. I usually feel spread too thin, as a lot of parents do.  There are some days though, that are particularly tough because I am in need of a break…which is long overdue for me at this point.  When my house is a disaster, I feel especially overwhelmed and irritable…which leads me to feel I am not doing a good job.  Today is has been one of those days but also has been a day where I have been able to see some growth in maturity and goodness in my children and it is so heartwarming.  They aren’t perfect and they have moments where they aren’t themselves, like we all do and they have areas where there is room for improvements, again, like we all do but I love and accept them the way they are. Accepting your children for who they are, without trying to make them someone else, by the way, is a huge weight off your shoulders.  Believing that they are awesome people the way they are,  just with areas that they may need guidance, does a world of good for them and you as a parent 🙂

I digress……back to my point of the post 🙂 Today, I have been irritable and overwhelmed by the filth of my house and the feeling of taking one step forward in cleanliness only to take 3 steps back because of some mess or disaster my 4 younger children have been involved in.  It gets to me after a while. Sometimes they are cleaning up after themselves and sometimes not. Plus there has been quite a bit of bickering between them and I only have myself to blame for this part since I let them have a sleep over downstairs for 2 nights in a row….knowing they don’t sleep well and are irritable after night 2.  Anyway, today after Kaitlyn was frustrated with her brother for not putting forth the effort to help clean their room, she started yelling and making demands and one thing led to another and before you know it there are tears and refusals to help. Then Kaitlyn is mad at me because I suggested she calmed down before she expected Aaron to help…she wanted him to help “right now”.  I suggested taking deep breaths and counting to 10 and she really did try but it just didn’t seem to do the trick for her because she would get mad again.  She ended up yelling at me about it and then actually hit me as I was turned around. It took me by surprise honestly and to be REALLY honest, I became a bit tearful out of frustration.  I then noticed she went and hid behind the couch and I could hear her counting and breathing again. She started talking to our puppy ( who was supposed to be napping lol). She came out a few minutes later and was very apologetic and suggested that she color a picture to calm herself down more, as well as to color one for me to help me feel better and one for her little brother too. Now that is an awesome thing to see from your kid! Recognizing that she was losing it and going off on her own to calm down, and coming back apologetic and more calm……..makes a mom proud 🙂

Then, a few minutes later, Ethan came down with a gift for “yours truly” 🙂 He had made me a coupon book! Bonus…..they never expire! How sweet is he? He said “Mom, I made this for you because it looked like you are having a tough day 😀 “.  Definitely something else to make this mom feel proud. It’s not the first time he has been so thoughtful …..he’s done these things before, they all do from time to time, but it is moments like these that help me keep going and pushing on through my day.

I am not naive enough to think this day won’t continue to have it’s ups and downs but at least I have had these moments to point out to me that no matter how often I feel like I am not getting it right……I must be doing something right 🙂 Tomorrow, I will be cashing in on one of those coupons!