Parenting lesson #5782 (or #1): EMBRACE REALITY

At 3:30pm on the afternoon of our fifth anniversary, I was sitting on the kitchen floor, sobbing post-tantrum (mine). The day had gotten off to a very rough start. Ellie has been an unusually tough cookie to manage for almost two weeks, and she had eaten through my patience reserves before 8am. Baby Stephanie, normally so easy to please, wouldn't nap. She was too tired to eat but too hungry to sleep, so she just fussed and wanted 110% of my attention. Each time I tried to do anything I wanted to get done, one or both of them would throw a fit or cry. All I'd hoped to do was clean up the house and myself, bake a yummy dessert, and look nice when Markus came home from work for our date at home after the girls went to bed. I didn't think that was too much to expect, but clearly I needed to let go. I picked myself up off the floor, called our favorite restaurant to book for the next night, found a babysitter, and then invited the neighbors over for some craft and play time. EMBRACE REALITY. Life is seldom perfect, and even more rare are the moments that go smoothly when I really want them to. I can rail against it (i.e., cry on the kitchen floor) or I can shrug it off and accept the blessings I have along with the challenges. And you know what? Markus and I had a really nice night. No, the house wasn't clean. My eyes were puffy from my crying (I'm thinking there must be some PMS mixed in there), I was wearing pajama pants, and I hadn't brushed my hair...but it didn't matter. I made a super-quick-to-prepare and delicious dinner, we opened a bottle of wine from our trip to Cullen Vineyards, and we gave each other anniversary presents as well as shared time. It wasn't at all how I'd planned it, but it was every bit as enjoyable. Embrace reality. Here's to many more wonderful (busy, challenging, unpredictable...) years to come!