"The days are long but the years are short."
I'm gonna be brutally honest. I read blogs lately that highlight how wonderful it is to be a mom. Post after post about how wonderful their kids are, how blissful life is, blah, blah, blah. I keep thinking to myself "Let's be REAL here people!" Am I the only one that has kids that are a little bit naughty and a little bit nice? Is there something wrong with posting the reality of the challenges of raising them without also recognizing they are wonderful, sweet, lovely blessings from heaven?
Here is my reality.
This happy, adorable, blue-eyed stud has entered the stage that makes me wonder if I want more kids. I mean he says the cutest things (Like "Mama - She smiled at you!" (meaning the baby smiled at him) and does adorable things like walk his stuffed dog through the mall. He is very observant of the world around him and belts out the lyrics to Train songs like nobody's business. He is also exceptionally intelligent. His vocabulary is extensive and his knowledge of colors and the alphabet quite astounding.
But then there is this side to him.
Yes. He is about to punch his baby sister here. Then there is the screaming, picking up the baby by her ankles and dropping her on her head, tantrums and did I mention hurting his baby sister and the constant screaming? Need I allude to the door slamming, item throwing and breaking of things in our house?
I know it's a stage. I know he is gonna turn out great. I know it will pass. But man does it try my patience. And make me a little anxious and a tad down. Prayer is my only sanity and I spend time locked into my room from the "little Hulk" each day on my knees with the baby on my side to preserve her life. Everyone says it will get easier. Waiting on that.
I do LOVE being a mom. I believe the work I do in the home is the greatest work I will do. Don't get me wrong. It's just that. . .
Well the days are long. And I try to remember the years are short. Because we never know how many long days or short years we have here on this earth.
I so totally hear you! My kids literally scream in my face for any/no reason - especially Judah, who is REALLY trying my patience this week. Yesterday he SCREAMED in my face until I gave him my dinner. Did he have a full bowl of his own? Yes, yes he did. But he wanted mine. I guess that's one way to diet...
ReplyDeleteOh Kristi, I keep thinking, I love my 10 month old, but will I love him in a year or two when he's going through the terrible 2s and 3s? Maybe love isn't the right word, but like? I guess we will see what my blog turns into in a few years. In the meantime, keep that baby safe and know you have a great support group.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ami! This is exactly what I needed to hear today!
ReplyDeleteI hate to break it to ya, but it doesn't get easier....at least for me it hasn't. The challenges just change to different ones. I wish you lived closer to me so you could be there when my almost two year old tackles her 8 year old brother and when my almost six year old comes home crying every day from school like he's two years old. Or when my 8 year old acts like me and bosses everybody around or when my 4 year old steals treats from the cupboards. I don't blog about the bad because I choose not to focus on it. I try to acknowledge the good in my kids because I believe that it's who they really are. Just keep going forward. Right now is the hardest time for you...I was just in your shoes and once I showed up at my neighbor's doorstep crying because my 3 year old needed stitches but my newborn was screaming and my 1 year old needed a nap. I didn't know what to do. I got through it and I expect to have more moments like that. We all have them and if it's hard then we are even that much more capable then we realize. Love you Kristi!
ReplyDeleteThat last picture is classic. Oh man. I know I'm going to get a taste of this with Ty and the new baby. I will constantly be "preserving" this new little one's life like you say. Evan had a gentler personality at this age, so I know it's going to be a shocker when this third one comes. Good you for keeping it real.
ReplyDeleteOh, this was totally Zerah when Sunny was born. I do not exaggerate when I say it was the hardest trial of my life. Medication helped. :) Also, though, Derrick helped me remember that I have stewardship over Zerah and I am entitled to receive revelation on his behalf. I prayed and prayed to know what he needed. The answer was he needed time and affection. Not easy to give him time, with a needy newborn around, and not easy to give him affection, when he kept destroying everything. But I tried, and it helped. Not sure what your little man needs, but you'll get your answers. Love you.
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