One of those days...

Tad went to Madison for a MUCH DESERVED 24 hour period away from home to see a friend.  And with impeccably bad timing, I had one of those days where I would rather have been anything but a parent. Anything.  A coal miner.  An exterminator. A pot washer....  Mostly I just wanted to be lounging around with coffee beverages, reading magazines and talking to nobody.  I think we all have those days...right? Please tell me we do! 

I made it through the day though, and once I finally got my kids tucked into bed, I was up and down the steps to Lucy's room seventeen times because she kept calling me.  Why did she keep calling me? Because this morning we went for a walk in the woods, during which time she collected a bag full of "beautiful rocks".  I, unthinking, let her bring said bag up to her room during her afternoon rest time.  Each time I went into her room, she handed me another handful of rocks that she had apparently found under her blankets. What the heck was she doing with them at rest time!?

And then Coen, when it was his turn to be read to...what did he choose?  Oh just to have me read through each awkward to pronounce name and microscopically typed factoid about each of his Pokemon cards.  COME on! Doesn't anyone want my day to be over?!!

Yeah, it was one of those days. But I tried hard.   I was patient where I felt impatient, kind when I felt irritated, I made my kids biscuits and eggs and hash browns for breakfast.  I took them to the park this afternoon for two hours.  I played a game of "store" in between returning to kitchen to make their dinner and mine.  But kids are all tucked in now and I feel guilty because even though I did okay, I didn't feel a lot of joy and warmth today.  I felt bored.  I know it's okay. I know that parents all over the planet have days when being a parent just feels like too much.  And we all find a way to get through the day any way.   And our children, somehow know this and choose the longest possible book to read and have the biggest post bedtime problems.

But tomorrow, I'll do better. I won't just get through the day, I will enjoy the journey of it.