Some mornings are just like that. Your kid says they aren't having fun & why are you being so mean to them. That makes you even more frustrated because all you did was nag them for the 40th time about getting dressed even though they have a chart and the whole point of the chart is to.not.have.to.nag. Yet some days the chart doesn't cut it. Your kiddo should be able to get dressed in a timely matter since this is what you do five-days-a-week. Over & Over. Yet some days it's like they've never even been in this situation before. Get dressed? What is this you speak of? School? Hmm...not sure what you're talking about. For.The.Love. It is enough to make this mama go cuckoo. Or go out of recovery & let a yell out.
I have been on a journey to not yell as much at my kiddos for what seems like forever. I know that can't be because typically you don't have much reason to yell at a newborn. Could you imagine? "Stop sleeping so much!" "WHY ARE YOU SO ADORABLE?!" No the yelling for me came a bit later. Once they began to reason & be defiant & be you know thinking for themselves. That is when I lost it. That is when I became a crazed mama who could loose it at the drop of a hat. Or lego or army man. Whatever. I would loose it quick. I would feel them not complying with me & feel the rage start creeping up. There wasn't typically anytime (or so it felt) to squelch it before it came spewing out in a loud & angry volcanic rush.
I've prayed, I've cried, I've put my head in a freezer. Because really who wants to be a yeller? Especially at their kiddos who they love & longed for. Pretty sure not one mama ever played with her dollies thinking how she couldn't wait to grow up & have kids of her own so she could yell at them. Yet it happens. All the time. Maybe not to all of us (lucky) but to a lot of us. We try & yell in pillows, or count to 10, or walk away, or breath deeply. We lock ourselves in garages & bathrooms & closets. Yet still we yell. It isn't something we can will away. It isn't something we can quick-fix. We can call it our "outside voice" & yet a yell is a yell. It isn't pretty & it is totally humbling. It often ends in an ugly cry.
So even though this morning was a re-lapse into yelling for me I am not going to let that define me or even my day. Even though my kiddo said through a tear streaked face " I thought you weren't going to yell anymore" I am done calling myself a yeller. Being a yeller isn't who I am it is something I do. (Maybe. Sometimes.Not as often as i used to.) Not every day here is going to be one the Walton's would be proud of nor is it going to be totally terrible. We are aiming for mostly good. And on the not-so-good days where it is glaringly obvious that mom messed up those are the days I squat down look at the tear stained face & ask for forgiveness. Those are the days I admit to being a human & show my kids that when we mess up we own it and we ask for forgiveness & we try again. We talked about just how he is learning to always be truthful I am leaning how to use my "inside voice." I don't think its the worst thing for them to get a glimpse of our fragility & our struggles. I think maybe, just maybe, it may take the pressure off of them a bit. At least that is what I am hoping they glean from all of this. Wouldn't it be a great thing for our kiddos to grow up & go into the world knowing how to extend grace & seek forgiveness from the people around them? To know that messing up isn't the same thing as failing-it's falling. To know that when you fall you can always get back up. You may not be able to do it on your own. You may need a hand. But you can get back up & try again.
I have been on a journey to not yell as much at my kiddos for what seems like forever. I know that can't be because typically you don't have much reason to yell at a newborn. Could you imagine? "Stop sleeping so much!" "WHY ARE YOU SO ADORABLE?!" No the yelling for me came a bit later. Once they began to reason & be defiant & be you know thinking for themselves. That is when I lost it. That is when I became a crazed mama who could loose it at the drop of a hat. Or lego or army man. Whatever. I would loose it quick. I would feel them not complying with me & feel the rage start creeping up. There wasn't typically anytime (or so it felt) to squelch it before it came spewing out in a loud & angry volcanic rush.
I've prayed, I've cried, I've put my head in a freezer. Because really who wants to be a yeller? Especially at their kiddos who they love & longed for. Pretty sure not one mama ever played with her dollies thinking how she couldn't wait to grow up & have kids of her own so she could yell at them. Yet it happens. All the time. Maybe not to all of us (lucky) but to a lot of us. We try & yell in pillows, or count to 10, or walk away, or breath deeply. We lock ourselves in garages & bathrooms & closets. Yet still we yell. It isn't something we can will away. It isn't something we can quick-fix. We can call it our "outside voice" & yet a yell is a yell. It isn't pretty & it is totally humbling. It often ends in an ugly cry.
So even though this morning was a re-lapse into yelling for me I am not going to let that define me or even my day. Even though my kiddo said through a tear streaked face " I thought you weren't going to yell anymore" I am done calling myself a yeller. Being a yeller isn't who I am it is something I do. (Maybe. Sometimes.Not as often as i used to.) Not every day here is going to be one the Walton's would be proud of nor is it going to be totally terrible. We are aiming for mostly good. And on the not-so-good days where it is glaringly obvious that mom messed up those are the days I squat down look at the tear stained face & ask for forgiveness. Those are the days I admit to being a human & show my kids that when we mess up we own it and we ask for forgiveness & we try again. We talked about just how he is learning to always be truthful I am leaning how to use my "inside voice." I don't think its the worst thing for them to get a glimpse of our fragility & our struggles. I think maybe, just maybe, it may take the pressure off of them a bit. At least that is what I am hoping they glean from all of this. Wouldn't it be a great thing for our kiddos to grow up & go into the world knowing how to extend grace & seek forgiveness from the people around them? To know that messing up isn't the same thing as failing-it's falling. To know that when you fall you can always get back up. You may not be able to do it on your own. You may need a hand. But you can get back up & try again.
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