Monday, February 8, 2010

Balm for a Mommy's Tired Heart

Last week was one of those weeks. It had snowed so much the week before, the weather was still cold, it rained, the ground is absolutely sodden, and so the kids didn't really get to play outside.

In my world, this is a recipe for disaster. Nathan and Rosie NEED to be outside. There is just soooooo much energy in those two, and when you put them together it multiplies. So, by the end of this week, I was exhausted and more than a little fed up.

Rosie has made lots of progress, but life can still be pretty frustrating at the minute. She still has such a hard time listening and obeying. Sometimes it's intentional disobedience because she doesn't want to (or she's mad), but more often than not, she's simply so BUSY and hyper that even if you: get down eye to eye, tell her very plainly what she needs to do, ask her to repeat it to you, check that she understands the instructions, remind her of the consequence for disobedience, and then send her off to do it, she won't end up doing it. She'll get distracted, decide she doesn't want to, forget what she was supposed to be doing, etc, etc, etc..... And, instead of obeying, she just winds up turning into a small, Ethiopian tornado and leaving destruction and chaos in her path.

This is better on the days when I can send her outside for a couple of hours to play in the backyard. Better for me, because I get a little break. Better for her, because it gives her the ability to wear off some of that huge excess of energy. But, given the weather, that didn't happen last week, or the week before for that matter.

So, yesterday afternoon, I was tired and dreading the beginning of another week of cold and snow and hyperactive children (Did I mention that it is snowing again as I type?).

Then, as we were driving to a friends' home for our Sunday evening small group, something happened that warmed my heat and has re-energized me for the week to come. As we pulled up in their driveway, I turned around to remind Rosie of expected behavior for the evening. She sat and looked at me while I talked then said, "Okay, Mommy". Then she said, "You my Mommy. I like it you my Mommy" and gave me a big hug and kisses all over my cheeks. Definitely a balm for this Mommy's tired heart, and just what I needed to give me hope and courage to be the Mommy to the many mini house-bound munchkins for another week.

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