I'm all over the place in my head this week. I almost feel manic in one second and depressed in another...I'm feeling underwhelmed then a shot of joy washes over me. I feel like I have energy to move mountains, then all I want to do is sleep. I cry over the silliest things, but giggle over even sillier things. I am guilty for not being the best mom/wife I can be but I still feel like I am honestly doing my best and can't do any better. Then, there's my maturing three year old.
I just want her to stop fighting me. That's all. Stop arguing every statement I make. Stop questioning my thought process. Stop. Just stop.
I am the MOTHER...You must listen to me because really, I do know best.
I know why you must not swing the cabinet doors back and forth.
I know why you must take a bath AT LEAST 3 times a week and wash/condition/brush your very long hair, and scrub behind your ears and clean your face and brush your teeth.
I know why you must not run into the street without "stop, look and listen"...and my hand.
I know why you must eat a balanced diet and not chocolate ice cream for every meal.
I know why you shouldn't have a treat every night before bed.
I know why you MUST put your poop and pee in the pot...eventually.
I know that butterflies will not gouge your eyeballs out as they flutter by, so don't be so a-scared.
I know that you need your night light at bedtime, you don't have to remind me every .4 seconds while we are schnuggling in bed.
I also know that you are testing your boundaries and trying out your newly found independence and bravado...
However,
I am the MOTHER....
You must trust ME.
You must know that I love you with all my heart and I would never let anything happen to you.
You must know that I would move heaven and earth to protect you in this world.
You must know that you are my heart and I could never see it break.
You must know that without you safe in my arms, my life is incomplete and I could never live without you.
You must know, that I want you to be independent too, in time. Not yesterday. It will happen.
You must know that I need you to slow down. It will all happen. I promise.
And I know you know that I love you forever. Out of all the little girls in the world I got the very best one!
It's all about the Mother this week....
18 comments:
What a sweet post!
They always say the "terrible twos", but I think I've struggled more with the 3-4 years old stage.
Wonderful post, I could have written the first half of it myself - and thank you for the reminders in the second half.
I have seen mothers comment all over blogs that it gets worse at 3 and up - now I'm afraid, very afraid.
I bought a book last week to help me preserve the few strands of hair I'll have left - Parenting the Strong Willed Child by Rex Forehand, and Nicholas Long - it's working!
Oh Janet ... You are so wonderful. I am glad that you are celebrating being a Mother this week. I struggle with the YOU MUST TRUST ME part of parenting. I find it frustrating when it feels like she doesn't trust me :(
It is all about them learning and understanding their groove in the world ...
I think I've said this before, but stink reminds me soooo much of my Stephen. Strong willed! It's a joy and a pain to be the mother of such a spirited little one. If nothing else, I can empathize. She's an amazing little girl, for sure, and she's got an amazing momma. Do something nice for yourself this Mother's Day.
You moms of three year olds are scaring the bejeebus out of me.
One day you can remind her of how she was at three, show her this post, and have a good giggle over all that she put you through.
And they just keep testing those boundaries.
I freely admit that motherhood is the hardest job I have ever had, the most exhausting, and the most rewarding, and loving also. I wouldn't give it up for anything.
But man, sometimes you just wanna wrap your hands around their neck and pop their head like a zit. hehehehehe
Wonderful post and so on target too!
Part of me loves that my kids question things. It makes me think that they won't be the kind of people that fall for anything and that they have analytical minds and are budding geniuses (doesn't every mom think that). Then the other part of me wants to just say "Because I'm the mommy and I know" just as you've done.
Happy Mother's Day!!
Oh, I loved this. So perfect. (And your days sound an awful lot like mine--nice to know I'm not alone!!!)
And I know exactly how you feel. What a wonderful post! It's so universal to moms. The contrast of wanting them to achieve independence but we want to protect them forever too. And to just believe what we say...just once. I know.
Awesome post!
Wait a minute...what's wrong with chocolate ice cream for meals and a treat before bed?!?!?!?!?!?
You, you, you!
But sometimes you can have chocolate ice cream for dinner, huh? Please??
Sometimes I think that surviving the pre-school years are just training ground for what we have in store for us during the hormonal teenage years ...
Hang in there. You do know best. She just won't believe you for about twenty years. Sorry.
Janet, I say it far too often to you (but it's really the only thing I want to say) - you are a beautiful writer.
It will all be worth it when she grows into an amazing, warm, intelligent, and strong woman!
Just like her mommy!
AND you KNOW I feel your pain! :)
As always, your writing amazes me, and you hit it all dead on. Teenagers can be stubborn, too.
You're right, it IS all about the Mom this week.
Trust me when I say...I know how you feel. I'm going through the same thing with my little girl. She drives me nuts! But then it's all worth it when days like these happen...I visited her preschool for mother's day and she couldn't stop giving me hugs and telling me how much she loves me.
That makes it all worth it even though sometimes I feel that raising a daughter is the hardest thing for me to do (I know we'll fight a lot just like me and my mother do)
Post a Comment