Dang Pebbles in My Road!

     I am certainly a life in progress. This much I will admit without question.  Over the past several years, there has been many many opportunities to progress. Some of those I have taken and run with, others I will face and say with a yawn, "Maybe tomorrow."  Through the six (seven if you count pregnancy) years of being a mother, there has been one opportunity that I can say to be one of THE most important that I luckily saw for what it was, and grabbed it with both hands! This progression came in a form of a lesson. It is a lesson that I am doing my very best to instill in my children. It is a gift, a blessing, a get out of jail free card, a blank slate, a mulligan, a tool for living that has enabled me to break the sometimes vicious cycle of the human emotion.  Sounds pretty wonderful huh? Are you ready to hear it? Here it is:

 
      It's so simple, yet so very powerful! If something comes along in my jog (sometimes sprint, sometimes flat our haul) from awake to asleep again that happens to trip me up a bit, I don't have to let it consume my day, or even my hour. (As a Stay At Home Mom of two, an hour can be a lifetime!)  I can simply kick it aside and take a breath and start over.  If I get angry at something ridiculous, and let's face it, usually the things I get angry over are ridiculous, I don't have to let it consume me. I can recognize it, take a breath and not let it stay with me all day long. I don't have to stay mad just because I get mad. If I mess up on my goal to eat better by grabbing a handful of my kids goldfish crackers at lunchtime, that doesn't mean I have to eat garbage the rest of the day. I can recognize it, and get back on track. START MY DAY OVER. 
     This tool can be especially powerful for young children. It is an incredible coping mechanism.  Larger Child can get pretty passionate about things. While that is often a great trait, sometimes it can get him stuck on an emotion like anger, frustration, or disappointment. I know what you are thinking, "Noooo! Not your perfect child. He appears to be such an angel."  He has had all out meltdowns over some of the smallest things. This was a few years ago. His fits have become more refined since then. But, you get the picture...

I am teaching him that just because one thing in his day doesn't go his way, doesn't mean that it has to ruin his entire day.   This has saved numerous grocery store, zoo, doctor outings and as it is slooooowly sinking in, improving the overall quality of mental health in the home. Oh Darling Larger Child....
     So, I encourage you to try and implement this useful tool into your lives and the lives of your children, or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, cousins, random stranger's kids who seem to be having a rough go of it because their evil parents won't give them the cocoa puffs they so rightfully deserve. Our children need to learn some coping skills. This is a tough world, there WILL be times they don't get what they want. If we are good parents, those times will happen a LOT. Spread the good news to everyone! You don't have to be controlled by the pebbles that show up in your day! No more ruined weekends because of a stubbed toe.  Be an example for your kids. Just try it. I promise it works. If not, you can just sit around being mad at me all day if you like!