patience

one of the virtues that God, unfortunately, did not give me an over abundance of. i have really been trying to work on my patience lately. it seems to be running low these days. i have been trying to keep my cool and remind myself that my girls are 2 and 3 and that these stressful moments are completely normal. i have to breathe deeply during one of ryan's infamous no-nap, evening meltdowns and remember that she is 3 years old. she is tired and doesn't know how to deal with her exhaustion in a way that doesn't involve crying. i need to recognize that when lilly lets out one of her ear piercing screams it's because although her vocabulary is exploding right now, she still may not be able to find the words to express the frustration she's feeling. although some days i feel like i may be failing, most days i feel as if i'm doing ok at this whole mommy thing. today was one of those days.

i never compare myself to other mothers. i believe in the philosophy that everyone handles this whole parenthood experience in their own way. i may not always agree, but if it works for them, more power to 'em. however, today i couldn't help but feel a little better about my mommy self. this morning we stayed after lil's swimming lessons to play at the pool for a little bit. as i was getting the kids dried off i overheard a mom next to me reprimanding her two girls for arguing over a toy. it started off with normal reprimanding. but then the mom took it to the next level when she told her daughters, and i quote to "shut up." while this may not seem like a big deal to you...i was shocked. it sounded so harsh and i felt sad for those girls. their own mother telling them to shut up. i couldn't help but pat myself on the back knowing that i would never, in a million years, no matter how big the tantrum, ever imagine saying those words to my kids. i may not be knocking this whole parenting thing out of the park all the time, but at least i know i'm giving it my all.

now, back to those swim lessons. lisa & i signed ryan, brendy and lilly up for lessons at the lodge. it's a 2 week session that started last week, with 1/2 hour classes mon-thurs. perfect for their ages. lilly and brendy absolutely love it...ryan, not so much. she loved it the first day but then wasn't really feeling it after that. however, i wasn't too disappointed because she has been in a summer camp at her school all this week so she wasn't going to be able to make every session this week anyway. we got some pics from the first day when everyone was happy!