Let the deep breathing begin

No, no, no... get your mind out of the gutter. Not THAT kind of deep breathing. Geez.

I meant the kind of deep breathing required (for me anyway) to deal with two young children sans spouse. Firedaddy is on (yet another) business trip, to Ireland. Today is day 1... of 5 days, and I aim to complete this mission with nary a single appearance of Mean Mommy. That is the goal anyway.

This afternoon went quite well, after picking the monsters up from preschool. Until dinner, that is. As we dug into our meatball sandwiches, Bug inexplicably changed from a sweet, charming two year old boy to a writhing, screaming THING. WHY you ask? I do not know. He's two. First, I tried to find out what was the matter. No success. So, next I tried to ignore him. Until both Bug and I realized we had our hands over our ears, and could no longer eat. So, I finally took him to his room to let him thrash around for 5 or 10 minutes until he returned on his own, ready to eat again.

The next hurdle was taking Bug to karate. It went so well, after all, the last time I had to take Bean with us (yes, I know, so MUCH sarcasm...)

This time, I forewarned Bug that I may have to leave, so if he turned to look for me, not to get upset if he didn't see me. And indeed, Bean and I had to make a quick trip to the car, and the library 2 minutes away, and back again, due to his loud screaming and kicking, at not being able to join Bug in the karate class. This episode was handled pretty well, with lot's of deep breathing and counting to ten.

Finally, home to baths and bed. Which went OK, except that I was worn out, and just wanted them to magically be in bed asleep without any effort on my part. Which, of course, didn't happen.

But I am proud to report that Day 1 is complete, with both kids in bed, and Mean Mommy successfully suppressed.

This is due, in part, to the book I picked up at a used bookstore last week, "The Tao of Motherhood" by Vimala McClure. It has many little gems in it, including the following:

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Anger

When you feel angry with your child, know that something rational must be done. State your feelings honestly, then withdraw to process your emotions and make a plan.

Striking out, either physically or emotionally, may succeed in getting through to the child, but it will also plant the seeds of guilt. Guilt is followed by resentment and bitterness. A victory can therefore end in failure.

Too many such victories and you will witness the death of your child's trust.
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Ouch. Mean Mommy could kill my children's trust with her yelling voice, if she makes too many appearances, so Mean Mommy must die! DIE Mean Mommy DIE!!

Right. So Day 1 is complete and Mean Mommy was overcome. Today's battle was won, but there are 4 more days to go in the war. So now, I will go pour myself a glass of wine to celebrate and plot my next move.