A Day Saved

My start to the day was far from promising. And to be perfectly honest, it was almost exclusively my fault. I have been trying to catch up on sleep all week and have not been successful. I haven't been able to lie down for even a 15-minute power nap during the day and cannot get my act together to be in bed before 10pm at night. This lack of sleep makes for a pretty grouchy Momma to begin with. Then today I added the stresses of going grocery shopping at the worst possible time - a Friday, payday, and just before a long weekend - and then reserving a park for an event for Ava's dance company.

We made it in and out of the commissary in good time and good spirits. I even got the kids little treats for being well behaved. My original plan had been to come home, unload groceries as quickly as possible, and then head back out to complete my other errand. Again, the kids were not behaving badly; they were just FULL of energy, and I didn't have the patience to deal with it. I felt myself slowly losing my cool. I knew if I tried to put them back into the car that I would lose it altogether and end up with three sad kids and one guilt-filled mother.

So I gave myself a time out. I fed the girls lunch and told them that for 10 minutes they were to take care of themselves. I was upstairs and accessible in case of emergency, but short of mortal danger they were to handle themselves. They did a good job. I emerged for a few minutes, doing some chores in the same vicinity as the kids but still maintaining my distance. Then I put Molly down for a nap and told the other two I was taking a Quiet Time today too. I went to my room, checked my email for a minute, and then laid down and closed my eyes. I'm fairly sure I never actually fell asleep - I was hearing lots of "fun" being had during quiet time downstairs - but I was alone and undisturbed for 45 minutes. I wasn't totally refreshed by the end, but I was a hell of a lot better off than when I had started the day.

My afternoon improved even more when Ben offered to make the run for me to reserve the park for the dance company's picnic. Not having to drag all three kids to run this errand lifted so much stress from my day, and I was so thankful that Ben did this for me at the end of his own workday with no complaint.

My day ended with Ava reading to her sisters before bedtime. I watched these three sweet girls quietly sitting together and thought of how differently the day could have gone. We were on the fast track to a day full of yelling, crying, and overall frustration and misery. I was glad (and I'm not going to lie, a little proud) that I was able to take a step back and refocus before things got out of hand. The day ended with all smiles, and that is a blessing in itself.