Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Taking back control

Maybe this has happened to you...

Darrin (my hubby) comes home from work - eats - rushes back out the door for his church calling. The second he leaves the house Corby falls off his chair at the table, starts screaming....he cries and cries...gags on the food that was in his mouth then proceeds to puke his dinner all over the kitchen as I race him to sink where he continues to puke over a sink full of dishes. Creedin starts melting down from his high chair, the girls are chasing, pulling and pushing each other; yelling and stomping around up stairs when they should be getting ready for bed and stories.

WHAT DO YOU?.....I felt things quickly getting out of my control.

Well, You simply try to take control back. As soon as Corby had finished puking his dinner all over my dishes, I washed him up, changed his clothes, gave him more dinner, put on some of my favorite tunes to calm Creedin (and to help my mood, music can do wonders for everyone, if its the right kind at the right time), I didn't say a word to the girls...I was just grateful they weren't fighting. Then I proceed to wash the dishes, they need to be done anyway, right? 

I realize I very easily could have went into MEAN mom mode - yelling and barking orders was what I wanted to do. Honestly, it was really hard not to when everything reached its peak- as I stood holding my boys head over the sink...but I decided to try M.E.A.N.E.S.T mom mode instead. 

If you ever have a moment like this...I'm Sorry -- because they are tough. Its easy to get frustrated, to feel overwhelmed and alone when you are doing your duties as a mother. Situations will come that will test our patience.

If you haven't read the book "I am a Mother" by Jane Clayon Johnson I highly recommend it. In her book she stated, "If you can control your behavior when everything around you is out of control, you can model for your children a valuable lesson in patience and understanding." (pg 81)

You will continuously be tested....but everyday life can hold valuable lessons for both you and your children.
  

1 comment:

  1. Scream Free Parenting by Hal Runkel is also a great book for teaching you how to handle these situations. (You know, you could easily make the book title "I Am a Mother" into a link that takes your readers to her Mormon.org profile -

    http://mormon.org/me/1K68-eng

    Just a helpful blogging thought!

    ReplyDelete