I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m not a perfect mother. In fact, there are days when I want to curl up and hide from any sort of motherly responsibilities. Today was one of those days.
Pre-kids, I was, shall we say…less than patient. I’m a person who likes to be in total control, and when something slows me down or gets in my way, I have a very hard time not freaking out over it. Not one of my most attractive qualities, but at least I realize it and have been working on it.
So fast forward to today when a very fussy baby, very grumpy toddler, and extremely moody preschooler decided to need undivided attention – all at the same time. Everyone was whining and crying and throwing tantrums, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I raised my voice to my babies.
Instantly, I felt horrible. Apologies flew as tears were shed, and I mentally kicked myself for getting so impatient.
Later, we ventured to the grocery store, where things weren’t much better. Fussy baby cried in his wrap on and off. Grumpy toddler ripped things from shelves and smacked her sister repeatedly. Moody preschooler had an emotional breakdown over my saying “no” to getting ridiculous amounts of junk food.
Ready to cry myself, I hurried to place my items on the cashier’s belt to be checked out. As I bent over to pick up some cheese, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and a very nice older lady was smiling at me.
“You’ve got your hands full,” she smiled. I nodded. “Well, just remember what my mother used to tell me: kids are people too – they have emotions and they are very real. They hurt and want and need just like you and me,” she said. “I wouldn’t have made it through raising 6 kids (3 sets of twins!) who were 16 months apart without that advice.”
My heart sank when I heard her words. Kids are people too. They do hurt, want, need, and everything in between. It isn’t fair to get impatient with them as often as I do just because they haven’t figured out how to handle their real emotions.
So the next time my baby fusses, my toddler throws a fit, or my preschooler cries at the drop of a hat, I think maybe I’ll just snuggle them a little bit closer rather than getting impatient with them.
Kids are people too.
