Today Was Hard

Today was a hard day. Harder than most. Today I woke up exhausted, more than usual anyway, but my toddler woke up with more energy than ever. My potty-trained two-year-old decided today that he didn't care to make it to the potty. He peed in every pair of pants that I put on him, just minutes after I put them on him. My normally independent child was clingy and emotional, and I was tired, sluggish, and, well, emotional. He wanted snacks. No, not breakfast, snacks! All day long. He was angry he couldn't ride on the cat and angry that his pineapples were touching his blueberries. He was angry that he woke up early from his nap and angry that he fell asleep again. Coffee didn't help me, milk couldn't settle him, TV didn't entertain either of us, and nothing went right. He refused lunch and ate chicken nuggets and fruit for dinner because, apparently, it is barbaric to offer an angry toddler mac and cheese or veggies.

I tried to take him to open play at his toddler gym, hoping to raise his spirits—instead, he clung to me in a corner clutching a ball for 20 minutes, played freely for 15, and then threw himself on the ground when he heard the "Goodbye" song play. Did I mention I had to wrestle him to get his pants on before we left? Imagine that again in the bathroom of the toddler gym because he decided to kick his pants off while I washed my hands.

We have all had days like these—you miss the bus, your kid won't sleep, and you just can't see the end in sight. Bedtime seems like forever away, right? I'm not a drinker, but days like these make me crave a glass of wine and a boiling hot bubble bath. It is so hard to maintain your cool and hold it together, maybe you yell more than you'd like or maybe you have to walk away and cry for a minute, but at the end of the day, you do! You survive the chaos and headache because that's parenthood, right? Fighting through the tears and frustration and tantrums and still trying to do the best you can for your kids. Being angrier and sadder than you ever have been, but still loving those little crotch goblins more than anything in the whole wide world. Have you ever had a toddler yell that they don't love you anymore because you wouldn't give them a third bag of fruit snacks or a bowl of ice cream for breakfast? It pisses you off while making you laugh simultaneously. I think laughing at those impossible moments is probably one of the best ways to get past them.

Next time you have a hard day, think about the kind of strength and endurance that it takes to fight through a day where the universe seems to be conspiring against you, and remember that you have survived before, you will survive today, and you will survive the next time. Even when you want to run away and hide, know that we have all been there, and it will always end. One day, you will look back on these days or weeks or months, and you will laugh. These will turn into stories you tell your kids when they are moody teenagers or adults. No matter what you are going through, you are amazing. Today sure was hard, but tomorrow is a new day, with new promises and new adventures, and I just can't wait to see what happens then.