I Did It! Mother and Babes Survive Flying Solo

Welcome to Macomb Patch Mondays with Mommy on the Spot! I have a blog at mommyonthespot.blogspot.com, but I will be posting here on Mondays. Thanks for reading!

There are moments in motherhood that can beat a girl down and make her feel like she is The. Worst. Person. Ever. Usually that feeling goes hand in hand with guilt. I like to think of it as the yang of motherhood. However, if you look close enough, there is a yin to those same exact moments. And for that, I am thankful. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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I am just completing my solo maiden voyage with the Babes – one whole week by myself. I know to a lot of moms out there, this is nothing, but WOW, it’s hard. Note to self: Never take for granted all that Harrington does around the house and with The Babes.

And this morning, the Grand Finale, was really a miracle. I heard Thomas crying in his sleep, and thought it was time for me to get up. So I am all ready to get up, and look at my clock, only to realize it’s 3:30 a.m. Because my brain is already in wake up mode, it takes me another two hours to fall back asleep. I get approximately 30 more minutes of sleep before my alarm goes off. And it wasn’t one of those laid back kind of mornings either. Oh, no! I had to drop Marie off at school, take care of laundry, clean some bathrooms, and go to Target to get The Babes a commemorative gift that we made it together as a team. (Mostly to buy my way out of all the guilt for being human instead of the perfect mom. Pathetic, right?)

So let’s talk about The Guilt. I wasn’t patient enough. The Babes watched mass amounts of TV. Marie was cranky with me because her routine was a little off. (But seriously, when she’s up at 5:50 a.m. and doesn’t want to lay by herself in my bed while I get ready, what am I supposed to do?) Perhaps the worst guilt that plagued me this week was that I did not play with them enough.

(And just so you know, I do realize how ridiculous this sounds when I write it out.  However, in my head, it feels very real and justified.)

But since I wasn’t playing with them all that much, they began to play WITH EACH OTHER! Unprompted! And nicely! And giggling! 

So instead of feeling guilty about not being the model of patience or the perfect playmate, I am going to revel in the positive: The Babes had a chance to bond together. FINALLY! Marie also had the priceless opportunity to learn that it can’t be her way all of the time.

Learning to be flexible and independent are huge life skills that cannot be learned if I am constantly hovering over them. The silver lining, right?

At least that is what I am going to go with.

What are your silver lining parent moments?