Today was spring picture day at school for my little ones. My beautiful daughter had her dress picked out two days in advance, along with shoes and headband. Girls are so good at that! My wonderful son, of course, wanted to wear blue jeans and a t-shirt. Since our weather only recently turned spring-like, we headed to Kohl's for a new shirt. After MUCH discussion about which t-shirt to purchase (they all came with an attached "toy"), we agreed on a bright blue one with an FM radio as the prize. Okay, so we didn't really agree--I gave in. But he really wanted the radio! ;)
Fast forward to bedtime. The kids are tucked in and listening to their bedtime CD (right now it's the soundtrack from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel). I went to lay out everyone's clothes for the morning and what did I find? Every pair of blue jeans in the house have holes in the knees--EVERY ONE! My kids go to Catholic school and wear uniforms. So in my mind, I thought he had a "good" pair in his closet. So I immediately became angry that he didn't tell me that his last "good" pair had holes in the knees. Yes, I know what you're thinking--he's an eight-year old boy. But in the moment, I was just plain mad. It was almost 10 o'clock and I had to get out of my comfy pajamas, get dressed, and go to Walmart. I cussed under my breath all the way there and the whole time I was searching through the almost bare shelves for just the right size. Still frazzled, I got in the car to go home.
First song I heard on the radio? Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. First of all, what a beautiful song! Secondly, it is a wonderful reminder that we are only here on this earth for such a short amount of time. And I'm pretty sure that when my end is near, I won't be worried much about knee holes in blue jeans. So should I really let them get me all flustered today? I felt horrible, because I left my son in bed thinking that he was responsible for my anger, when in fact, I was mad at myself. I should have checked the blue jeans before bedtime last night. Then we could have picked up a new pair when we were out earlier in the evening. So of course I headed straight to his bed to apologize when I got home. He was asleep so I gently kissed him and apologized this morning.
What did I learn? First and foremost, my reaction to a situation of my own making should never place blame on my children. Second, I need to be a tad more organized so that I'm not always throwing things together at the last minute. And lastly, that God knows exactly where I am on my faith and parenting journey and has provided me with all the tools necessary to be successful on that journey. It is up to me to utilize them so that I can not only survive, but thrive in my roles as wife, mother, DRE, and student.
On a side note--one of my younger sisters is in labor as I write this. Please keep her in your prayers as she welcomes the newest boy into our family. Blessings to you!
