pep talk!

[dustthouart]

In hindsight it was probably a bad idea to schedule for The Husband to go back to full time right after Christmas. We went straight from hectic crazy holiday time into hectic crazy holiday time is still around and suddenly I'm alone all day with two kids. And next week I'll be alone all day with THREE kids at least sometimes, when LB comes back

Comments

[akcipitrokulo]

I'm realising that Thomas is now older than Peter was when Thomas was born... and I see Thomas as so much less mature than I did Peter at that age, but when I think about what they can do, it's pretty similar. I think it's my perception with Peter there, doing almost 4-year-old stuff, that the almost-2-year-old stuff doesn't seem as mature as it was the first time it happened?

This is awesome.

[joy_of_abigail]

Love the logic of the expert thing via Gladwell, and in general, your sense of humor over your recent entries. Also the phrase "brute practice," and the awesome paraphrase for your lawyer-lady encounter of the things you COULD have said.

Keep it coming. I have been scared to be a parent for so long after seeing my sister (lovingly) struggle with four in six years, but your processing makes it seem more ... possible. Still hard, difficult, not easy to express, but not tear-your-hair-out-traumatized-all-the-time-hate-life.

(On the other hand, I KNOW my sister will be laughing in 5 or 10 years when I make the leap, and her kids are all in late grade- and middle-school. So there's that.)

Re: This is awesome.

[dustthouart]

I posted this in my Facebook recently, and it's relevant to what you're saying:
"One thing I didn't expect about parenting is that it would force me to confront all the parts of myself I didn't like and thought I couldn't change, and realize that I could change them, and more than anything my children give me the motivation to change them. Some days I am worse and others better, but I'm better month over month than the person I used to be. It isn't inevitable and it's decisions I make every day in the smallest moments that add up and turn into something profound. As Pippa turns from toddler to preschooler and I'm dealing with being outnumbered sometimes three to one, I've found myself yelling and going down a discipline path which neither works nor is enjoyable. So this page [I was linking to this] inspired me. Better emotional regulation is just another step towards becoming a better human being. Thank you, kids