Dakota has a pine cone turkey this year. And his English teacher is having them keep a "turkey journal" of this week. They have to write it from the Turkey's perspective. It's actually pretty neat. Dakota named his turkey, Ezura (named after a character from Star Wars Rebel). Dakota is doing well with it.....
but.......................................................................
I read his recent entry. Apparently, "Dakota's mom was to lazy and watched her shows in her room. So my house wasn't remodeled with a red roof."
OMG!!! embarrassing!! I told Dakota that was not appropriate to write. I am NOT lazy....who made dinner, who helped you with your homework, who made sure you had clean clothes, etc. He got grumpy with me and I left to check on the girls. Later, I found his turkey journal on the table; so, I decided to see if he changed what he wrote. He did. He changed it to "Dakota's mom was not in the mood so she watched her TV shows in her room while Dakota and his dad watched Star Wars Rebel."
Lovely...."not in the mood"....But I guess it's better than the previous entry.
To add my disclaimer (so I don't come across as the worst mother in the world)...This was the same evening that my middle child was a bit trying. She tested everyone's patience that afternoon/evening. After dinner, I let Jed take over and I went to my room. Sometimes during trying situations, it's easiest to hand the reins over to the other parent and take a moment.
But it was super frustrating to read from my child's point of view, that Mom was lazy. :( Yeah, I'll admit...It hurt my feelings. It made me want to just throw in the towel with the whole situation. Today, I was talking about this with some of my close mommy friends and one made a profound statement: "They always focus on the rare moments when mom takes a break, and not EVERY single other moment when mom is super mom!" Yes, that made me feel better. Sometimes talking about your parenting moments with other moms provides you the encouragement that 1) you're not alone. 2) it happens to the best of us.
I know we all have times like this...and I'm not the first mother to find out my actions came across as "lazy/not in the mood". While I may chuckle at this now, I'm hoping it will provide another mommy with the encouragement to continue on. You are doing a fantastic job. Yes, you deserve a break every once in a while....and your kiddos will realize this when they are parents themselves. But for now, press on. Have that extra cup of coffee/tea/caffeine. Smile through the crazy times. And always remember, You are not alone.
-enJoy