I took my Solomon to the doctor the other day. The older kids hung out in the waiting room and watched a movie while I chatted with the doctor.
She asked the usual questions... Is he eating, pooping, walking, talking, sleeping?
And then she asked if I had any concerns, anything I was worried about.
"Worried? No. A bit flustered? Slightly overwhelmed? Maybe.
He's just in a crazy phase.
He doesn't have words, so he's often flustered.
He doesn't listen, destroys everything, cries often and only wants to eat gram crackers and fruit.
I know in six months 90% of these issues will resolve themselves as long as I stay consistent, diligent, and patient, but that doesn't mean that I'm not tempted to hide under my covers for the next six months until the kid figures some things out."
She chuckled to herself.
Then she put her clip board down and looked right at me.
"Oh honey, every time you leave this office, the staff and I talk about how you make mothering look so easy with the way you interact with all your kids. It's nice to hear that it's not all easy for you."
That's when I found myself chuckling.
"Oh friend, mothering isn't easy for anybody. You wanna know why my kids are so awesome when I bring them to your office?
It's because I spend ten minutes before I come in prepping them in the car, reminding them that I am the parent and that I am the only one who needs to answer all your questions, and that you don't need all six of us talking at once.
I remind my Reesie-girl, that now is not the time to tell the doctor the names of all fifty of her stuffed animals, nor is it the time to tell the doctor that she forgot to brush her teeth this morning.
I remind the oldest to not boss all the little ones around and I remind the little ones to keep their hands to themselves. I remind the boys that now is not the best time to wrestle and I remind all 4 of them to practice their patience with one another.
And then, After I prep em__ I give them a little incentive. There's a 7 Eleven just around the corner and I'm happy to buy them a little slurpee if we can make it through the appointment without a whole hoopla of commotion!"
She smiled big, picked up her clip board and said it,
"Glad to know I'm not alone."
__________
We finished up our appointment and my crazy kids informed me that they didn't need the sugar, (What?? Ok. Awesome.) so we forwent the Slurpees.
The littlest one pitched a lovely little fit on the way home because he truly doesn't care for his carseat.
Once we got home, one kid cried because he couldn't figure out his math problem,
and two other kids had a rather minor dispute over who's Hello Kitty pencil it actually was.
There are moments, everyday, for Mamas all around the world.
