Pushing Through the Restless Days

Summer is like parenthood.

Most days are wonderful.

Some days are harder than others.

Lately, we have had a spell of restless summer days around our house.

Maybe it's the heat.

Maybe it's too little sleep.

Maybe it's the burden of having too much choice over how we spend our day,

 and the boredom that creeps in as a result.

Whatever the reason, the past few days have been filled with 

too many timeouts, 

too many interventions,

too many scowls and not enough 'yes, ma'ams,'

too many crabbys, not enough happys.

You might say that my kids and I are getting in the way of our summer fun.

Hard parenting days make me a restless parent.

I don't enjoy messes.

I don't enjoy timeouts.

I don't enjoy fussing.

I don't enjoy discipline.

The restless parent in me wants to throw in the towel,

I want my career back,

I want out of the house.

I want to feel important, 

I want to feel valued.

But at the point when parenting becomes the hardest, 

at the point where I become the most restless,

that is where my parenthood becomes most important,

most valuable,

and has the greatest potential.

So stick it out, Johnson Bears.

Finish the time out, pick up the mess, give a big hug and head out for more.

The lessons learned on restless days make for better days ahead.

There is so much summer fun left to enjoy!

And stick it out, Momma.

Say your prayers, get some sleep, make a plan, hold your tongue, put on humiltiy,

have some patience.

Parenting through the restless days makes for better days ahead.

Thanks to these great women for two posts that offered great perspective on a frustrating, restless parenting day: AWOL Mommy's post on "Vocligation", and Leila's post on "Competence vs. Perfectionism."  Truly, these are great reads for any day.