Parenting is a whole new level of critical thinking that
blows any high level college course out of the water. The toddler wants the
orange cup so you wash it and serve the juice only to be met with a demand for
the blue cup and then once you accommodate, it’s back to the orange. Since this
is all happening before your first cup of coffee in the morning, you jump through the ridiculous hoops until you
finally put your foot down but the mind games never end. It’s a tough balance
between letting them have their own ideas and thoughts and not
allowing them to manipulate and control your every move.
Today, Charlotte wanted to remove one shoe and hop like a 1 legged bunny out of the restaurant. Who could ever guess what is going on in a little
toddler’s brian? Out of pure survival, we attempt to guess and even think like
a toddler and that my friends is what crazy is made of. This type of mental
taxation is what makes me forget my doctor’s appointments and loose every pair
of sunglasses I ever own. You’ve seen these mothers. You can spot them from a
mile away. They sway back and forth as if they are rocking a child, when there
are no children around. They still excuse themselves to go “potty” and they
carry around snacks and extra clothing in their purses, even when their kids
are teenagers.
A week or so ago, Eli was giving me a particularly hard time
about going down for a nap. He did not want to get into his bed. He was really
trying everything to get me to stay in and play his games. Not happening. I was
too pooped. I simply said “Mommy is closing the door. Do not come out of your
room. Take a rest.” 10 minutes later it was quiet and I went up to check on him
and this is what I found.
I could have rocked him, laid with him, read 500 stories and
probably not gotten him to sleep, but go figure, he could fall asleep perched
on top of a laundry basket. I give up trying to understand toddlers. All I can do
is love them to pieces. And somehow, once they are asleep (especially on top of
a laundry basket), it’s easy to fall back in love.
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