"I'm not having a bad day"

I said that this blog was about being real, so here's the real of my day: Today about did me in.

My kids woke up WAY too early for a day off of school. They aren't old enough to get their own breakfast or go for long periods unsupervised. So, early to rise it was.

Our kids are into playing Wii Sports Resort, so that went on after breakfast. We're trying to teach them how to win and lose gracefully and that there should be no whining and crying when it's time to turn it off. After today's episode, we need to add to the list that if an adult is trying to show you how to play the game, you don't cry and scream and repeatedly yell, "I will do it! I can do it myself! Don't touch my remote!!!"

We went sledding... that was the high point of the day.

We came home, ate lunch and sent the older kids to the back yard to play, but no one wanted to go outside (you know, since there's no hill and the snow isn't as abundant as it has been). Sorry kids. Mommy NEEDS you to go outside. They stayed there for about 30 minutes. Long enough for me to make two phone calls (one of which should have been made 2 weeks ago). 

They come in and play a game with daddy. Yay! They cry and scream at the end of it. Boo. Dinner time. More crying, screaming and fighting. Boo again. The middle child was so in orbit, IN ORBIT, I tell you, just about hyperventilating, telling me she's going to throw up (she didn't), over having to eat grilled chicken. It took her about 30 minutes to get over it. Super boo. She calms down then goes to play in the same room as the other two. Then the oldest hits the middle child in the face with a car, on purpose, because she won't leave him alone. BOO.

Somewhere in the middle of it all I had to, HAD TO, disconnect myself from it. You can absorb only so much, take responsibility for the insanity, attempt to make it better/fix the problem (mommies are very susceptible to doing these things). But then there comes a point where you have to realize that YOU are not having the bad day. She is. He is. Not you.

Now, I've said before that this isn't a Mommy Blog, and I mean it. So stay with me.

Have you ever been so involved in a project or event or relationship that you felt that its success or failure depended on you. That if it didn't go well that you were to blame and fingers would be pointed at you and it would certainly be detrimental to your reputation? Did this pressure weigh on you and make you a little crazy? What if you were able to take a step back and say, "I'm not having a bad day. This ____________ is."  Would the pressure and tension subside a little? Would you be able to empathize with the other people involved and maybe connect with them a little better? 

I wish I could say I realized I wasn't having a bad day earlier than I did. I may have been able to head off a few tantrums and curb some dinner time anxiety (probably my own). And I definitely would have been able to connect with my kids better. The good news is, there's always tomorrow.

What are you so involved in that you could benefit taking a step back to look at it and see that it's separate from you? I'd love to hear. I think we all would. Because we need to hear that someone else is experiencing the same thing. 

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