Thursday, June 10, 2010

Another Mommy Day

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 8:38 PM
Have you every looked for a hole to crawl in? Or a close exit? And tried to take it as quickly as possible with four little kids and everything that comes with them? I did. Today. Tried, that is. Thought about it. Desperately looked for a way out.

We had a slow week - no where to be other than work for me on Monday. It was a wonderful feeling, so good I decided to venture out to the library. I literally can't remember the last time we went, and it's something that we used to enjoy on a regular basis (before I started working part time and we joined a homeschooling group.) Also, I had two books on hold (by John Maxwell, I HIGHLY recommend reading him) and my daughter had finished her last Nancy Drew book I had picked up a few weeks ago. So off we went.

Everything went well for the first half hour. My oldest was collecting Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and the ultimate: Super Mysteries with all the above. The three little ones were playing fairly well and I was getting to browse Today Matters. Then, my one-year-old fell off one chair into another and bonked her head. And she must have bonked it good, because she screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs for 10 full minutes. In the library. Loudly. For ten minutes.

I would have loved to pick up and go, but my oldest was at the self-checkout with her books (after 5 minutes of coaxing her to ask the librarian for help so I wouldn't have to leave the others or drag them along.) She was in the middle of her 15 books and there was no option for an easy exit. I tried the pacifier. I tried the cup of milk. I tried distracting her by looking out the window, but everything made her more mad.

Finally, my oldest was finished and returned with her bag of books. I apologized to them and said, "Get your things, we've got to go." The reason was obvious. No one even questioned it. So, we got our stuff, I slung my purse on my free shoulder, and silence.

Really? I thought. "Wait a minute. She may be okay." Suck, suck, suck. The pacifier didn't seem so offensive any more. I put my purse on the floor. A wimper. I picked my purse back up. Silence. I stood motionless. The other kids waited. Finally, I breathed. "I think we're okay." And we were. We moved to the trains, we played, the baby got down and was a happy camper. I talked to a few other moms (didn't admit I was the parent of the screaming banshee from a few minutes before) and even met another homeschooling mom of three girls and one boy, all under 7. Overall it was a successful trip.

And the lesson that was reinforced, that I knew already, but seem to forget on a regular basis - if I can just hold out for a few minutes, it will pass. It really will!! And on the other side of the storm, sometimes there's a rainbow.

0 comments on "Another Mommy Day"

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Another Mommy Day

Have you every looked for a hole to crawl in? Or a close exit? And tried to take it as quickly as possible with four little kids and everything that comes with them? I did. Today. Tried, that is. Thought about it. Desperately looked for a way out.

We had a slow week - no where to be other than work for me on Monday. It was a wonderful feeling, so good I decided to venture out to the library. I literally can't remember the last time we went, and it's something that we used to enjoy on a regular basis (before I started working part time and we joined a homeschooling group.) Also, I had two books on hold (by John Maxwell, I HIGHLY recommend reading him) and my daughter had finished her last Nancy Drew book I had picked up a few weeks ago. So off we went.

Everything went well for the first half hour. My oldest was collecting Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and the ultimate: Super Mysteries with all the above. The three little ones were playing fairly well and I was getting to browse Today Matters. Then, my one-year-old fell off one chair into another and bonked her head. And she must have bonked it good, because she screamed bloody murder at the top of her lungs for 10 full minutes. In the library. Loudly. For ten minutes.

I would have loved to pick up and go, but my oldest was at the self-checkout with her books (after 5 minutes of coaxing her to ask the librarian for help so I wouldn't have to leave the others or drag them along.) She was in the middle of her 15 books and there was no option for an easy exit. I tried the pacifier. I tried the cup of milk. I tried distracting her by looking out the window, but everything made her more mad.

Finally, my oldest was finished and returned with her bag of books. I apologized to them and said, "Get your things, we've got to go." The reason was obvious. No one even questioned it. So, we got our stuff, I slung my purse on my free shoulder, and silence.

Really? I thought. "Wait a minute. She may be okay." Suck, suck, suck. The pacifier didn't seem so offensive any more. I put my purse on the floor. A wimper. I picked my purse back up. Silence. I stood motionless. The other kids waited. Finally, I breathed. "I think we're okay." And we were. We moved to the trains, we played, the baby got down and was a happy camper. I talked to a few other moms (didn't admit I was the parent of the screaming banshee from a few minutes before) and even met another homeschooling mom of three girls and one boy, all under 7. Overall it was a successful trip.

And the lesson that was reinforced, that I knew already, but seem to forget on a regular basis - if I can just hold out for a few minutes, it will pass. It really will!! And on the other side of the storm, sometimes there's a rainbow.

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