Your kid will act up some day, too.
Yesterday was Mother's Day! Yay!
I am a mommy of three ( and 1/4 if you count the growing one in my belly, and I totally do )
So, an almost mom of 4.
We went with our entire family out to Mother's Day Brunch yesterday at Wildlife Prairie Park.
I had made the reservation well in advance to accommodate 12 people. Yes, we had 12 people.
My parents, my husband's parents, my sister's family and my own.
I chose the park because I thought it would be a great way to spend the day, and the kids would enjoy going to the park and seeing the animals, etc.
I was right. It was a great time had by all. It was a little chilly but no one complained or even seemed to notice.
There were lots of families out for Mother's Day brunch.
Families with older children, families with small children, large families, small families, all kinds of families.
Right when we got there my oldest decided that she was going to throw a fit. She sometimes gets a little anxious in social situations where there are a lot of people. She has melt downs. She decided that this was the time and place to do so.
She just needed to be calmed down. We had to decide where she was going to sit and what she was going to drink. This took a good while to accomplish, and she was still whining and grabbing a hold of my leg the entire time. Finally she calmed down and sat in her chair and was able to talk to family and eat her brunch.
In the midst of all this I noticed a small family sitting at the table next to ours. They had a newborn baby who was probably only a couple of weeks old.
I had noticed them for two reasons:
1. Because they walked in right before us, and had been given the LAST highchair in the place for them to flip it over and place their car seat in it. We obviously needed it for our 14 month old to sit in the high chair to be able to eat, because she isn't capable of sitting in just a booster seat a lone yet. So, I was a little peeved about it because I had called over a month in advance and requested a high chair. No matter. Baby would sit on Daddy's lap and we would wait for someone to be finished with theirs.
2. While Ellie was throwing her tantrum, I noticed that the mother looked over at my red-headed child in complete horror as she grabbed hold of my leg and whined endlessly. I overheard her comments about how I needed to learn to control my child ( or something to that extent, because I wasn't really paying
complete attention to
her at that moment )
I just smile at people that give me the horror look. I think its kind of funny for them to think that my child is misbehaving and that I am in total control and should just snap my fingers and they will whip into shape.
It's quite comical to think that actually happens. Maybe in Disney movies. I do not live in a Disney movie, and frankly, you don't either.
( if woodland critters do your housework for you, and you are able to whistle while you work, in perfect pitch and tune please let me know where you live! )
I wanted to say something to that mom. I wanted to walk over there, point at her newborn and say "You don't have mind control over that child.
Your child will do what they want, when they want, and it won't always be in the privacy of your own home.
Your child will have tantrums.
Your child will have instances where they embarrass you in public. It will happen.
It will."
And then I wanted to waggle my finger and walk away, my screaming kid attached to my leg like something out of the movies.
I didn't. I bit my tongue and smiled a thin lipped smile.
I also smile at other moms whose children are throwing fits somewhere. I smile the "I'm Sorry! I know your pain" smile!
You can always tell when another mom gets your sympathetic smile because they give you one back that says "thank you."
I don't, however, understand the looks from people who look at you as though you are beating your child to elicit such behavior.
"Yes, I am a bad mom. The reason she's acting like this is because I pulled her hair and threatened to chain her in a dungeon." Duh.
Geeze, people. She's Four years old. She's not entirely in control of her emotions at this point in time, and this is the only way she knows how to deal with it. Just like a baby cries to let you know they need something, a child acts a specific way when they can't communicate their needs.
SO, to the judgmental mom with the newborn:
your time will come. And instead of giving you a look of distaste and horror, I will offer you a sympathetic smile, and hope someday you will do the same for a fellow mommy, because we're all learning as we go.
My Beauties and me for our Mother's Day photo shoot.
photo taken by:
