I know Mother’s Day should be all hearts, flowers and pedicures, but I have a confession to make – I’ve been having a hard time mothering lately.
My three-year-old, true to her developmental task, is testing every limit I have. Whether she’s willfully pouring yogurt onto the floor, eyes locked with mine in a dare, or postponing bedtime for hours by demanding that her (bone dry) pull-up be changed again and again, she’s pushing, pushing, pushing. And I’m reacting, reacting, reacting, though not very effectively.
A friend told me her niece behaved similarly, and it was “just a phase” lasting from age 2 ½ to 4. That’s not a phase—it’s an eternity!
Then I read an incredible essay written, improbably, by Rob Lowe. It’s about sending his eldest son off to college, and it’s making everyone who reads it cry. But it also lifted me up, reminding me that the investment I make in parenting now pays off in the future, for my daughter as well as my long term relationship with her. Or so I hope. I am not nearly as skilled in the parenting arts as the Lowes, but they have more practice, and maybe I’ll get there.
If you have time today between all the massages, mimosas and naps (LOL, as if), give it a read. And Happy Mother’s Day! XOXO
