advertisement
-
mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
- read more
-
Imagine if you will a 4 ½-year-old walking into his favorite place on earth (or at least in Johnson County) last Wednesday, ready to beat his brother at the variety of games they have there, and ending up in the emergency room a couple of hours later.
Not the kind of situation in which I would have imagined myself doing well.
But hey, I think I held together that night, talking with nurses and doctors, holding our little guy's hand as the doctor shot some numbing medicine into his middle finger on his right hand. I even looked as this wonder surgeon stitched him up as if he was darning a sock.
It's only now that I freak a little. Going over in my head the hours in the ER and the worry that they may have to amputate the top of his finger. OK, when that was mentioned, I guess I wasn't all that calm. Just ask husband.
But one thing I realized during last week's little crisis at the local place with Skee-ball lanes is I'm the type of mom who can handle the bigger things pretty well. Broken bones. Principal calling because a boy of mine did an inappropriate “bottom dance” at recess. Hours-long ER visits (both boys). Eleven stitches in our little guy's middle finger (and the words “partial amputation” tossed out casually by a hand specialist way, way smarter than me).
I just ask lots of questions. Try to calm the kids. Talk it over with friends. And eat as many snacks as I can. That somehow helps.
But the little things? Oldest losing his phone for the third time. The dog vomiting all over our comforter Saturday night. Youngest refusing to stop jumping on the bed (a new phenomenon for him, apparently) his slinged arm just flopping up and down.
Those things turn me into a crazy women where a video of my behavior could actually go viral. I don't do any deep breathing, ask any questions or take time to talk any of it out. Nope, I go bonkers.
What's that saying, “Don't Sweat the Small stuff?” If only.
No, I typically sweat all the small stuff. It's just my nature. Part of my charm, I tell my husband. That's why when something major happens, like last Wednesday when youngest had his “Skee ball incident,” my boys and husband are just shocked by my reaction. It's like, “Where did this calm, rational, almost-peaceful woman come from?”
Maybe I'm just good in a crisis. Maybe there's no time for insane me. Or maybe I'm so crazy most of the time, you know, sweating all the small stuff, that I just don't have any energy left for the big things.
Either way, I think it all works out in the end. It seems husband is pretty good with all the small catastrophes.
And the big stuff, well he's pretty good at that too, unless he actually sees too much blood.
(I won't go into his little “moment” in the ER. That's a blog on it's own.)
As moms, I think we are made from a stock that just knows how to hold it together during the "big" stuff, for the sake of our kids, who if they see we are scared, will be too. The small stuff, just nerve-wracking. I can relate, all too well.Glad that stitches were the solution. Seems funny to type that! Moms can handle the big stuff because they have to. But i tend to fall apart later, usually in bed at night, when the kids won't see or hear me. And the small stuff drives me crazy ! Parenting is not for the faint of heart!Oh my gosh I am the same way, but I know that and I am trying to change. I guess maybe I feel justified in my crazy mom self cause most times the small things result from the kids doing the things I have told them not to like a bazillion times! Big things like ER visits, I feel I have to keep everyone else calm. My husband is always calm...so he balances me. Glad your little boy is ok!You sound just like me. The little stuff does drive me crazy, too, but give me a crisis, and somehow the calm kicks in. Don't know why. Glad your son will be okay!Ditto - I'm the same way too! A few months ago I had a gash in my head, bleeding profusely, that I knew would need stitches. I didn't cuss, cry or ouch - just held a rag to my head and told the girls I was fine, just had a little "ouchie". Kept them from seeing the blood & calmly called DH to drive me to the dr. I was impressed with my ability to keep them calm, when inside I was freaking out and hurting quite a bit. Different than them being hurt, but I remember thinking I couldn't have them scared about me. I have to admit I'm still trying to figure out what he did to his finger playing skeeball???Just got home from a long day and LOVE that others are insane as me, ha,ha. I think I like being able to handle the big stuff... And Yahoo, well, the little guy was trying to roll it up really hard and somehow slammed his hand into the lower metal part of the machine. That explains the broken bone. We're still puzzled about the "partial amputation." Not sure what he cut it on. Probably never will.I love this blog! I'm in the same boat. I have so much grabbing for my attention as mom in all aspects of my life, I can't give anything the proper energy to take care of it gracefully unless it's big. If it's big, a good chunk of my energy can be sent to it at the expense of the little things. If it's little, I can't excuse spending as much energy on it to fix it since there are so many other things, which freaks me out a bit-- hence the less-than-graceful response.
May 2013 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Tagsmoms (38)
teens (34)
tweens (27)
toddlers (22)
school (18)
kids (17)
christmas (14)
boys (12)
parenting (10)
toddler (10)
mom (9)
parents (9)
family (8)
friends (8)
birthdays (6)
children (6)
discipline (6)
money (6)
teenagers (6)
economy (5)
facebook (5)
girls (5)
kindergarten (5)
mom moments (5)
shopping (5)
stress (5)
video games (5)
anxiety (4)
diet (4)
fashion (4)
holidays (4)
husbands (4)
santa (4)
sons (4)
sports (4)
talking (4)
teachers (4)
apple (3)
babies and toddlers (3)
books (3)
chores (3)
coupons (3)
crazy (3)
dad (3)
dads (3)
divorce (3)
driving (3)
exercise (3)
flirting (3)
football (3)
ipad (3)
junior high (3)
lessons (3)
marriage (3)
michael phelps (3)
obama (3)
peer pressure (3)
preschool (3)
sex (3)
sleep (3)
steve jobs (3)
tantrums (3)
worry (3)
brad pitt (2)
bragging (2)
church (2)
class (2)
conferences (2)
craigslist (2)
dancing (2)
death (2)
dogs (2)
embarrassing (2)
emergency room (2)
family time (2)
fat (2)
fighting (2)
finances (2)
fits (2)
fitting in (2)
food (2)
google (2)
guardians (2)
guilt (2)
haircuts (2)
high school (2)
homework (2)
husband (2)
internet (2)
joplin (2)
karma (2)
license (2)
losing weight (2)
manners (2)
mccain (2)
mean (2)
men (2)
olympics (2)
phobias (2)
pictures (2)
presents (2)
questions (2)
saving money (2)
scary (2)
spelling bee (2)
stubborn (2)
style (2)
summer (2)
teacher (2)
teen (2)
toys (2)
tv (2)
vanity (2)
weight loss (2)
wii (2)
wills (2)
writing (2)
(1)
16 (1)
40th (1)
911 (1)
accents (1)
acne (1)
activities (1)
add (1)
addiction (1)
advice (1)
affection (1)
afraid (1)
airplanes (1)
alcohol (1)
allow (1)
anger (1)
apologizing (1)
appreciation (1)
arguments (1)
art (1)
autism (1)
babies (1)
babysitter (1)
babysitting (1)
back to school (1)
backsnacks (1)
bad cop (1)
bad luck (1)
bad mom moments (1)
band (1)
bathroom (1)
beer (1)
belief (1)
belongings (1)
birth (1)
birthday (1)
blogging (1)
body image (1)
bones (1)
bosses (1)
bottoms (1)
bribery (1)
broken bones (1)
brothers (1)
budget (1)
butts (1)
cameras (1)
candy (1)
car keys (1)
carnies (1)
carnivals (1)
cartoons (1)
cheap (1)
cheating (1)
chemistry (1)
childhood hunger (1)
christmas cards (1)
christmas spirit (1)
chubby (1)
cleaning (1)
cleavage (1)
clinton (1)
clothes (1)
clutter (1)
cnn (1)
coaches (1)
cold turkey (1)
comic books (1)
commercialism (1)
commitments (1)
communication (1)
competitive (1)
computers (1)
conference (1)
consoling (1)
cooking (1)
coupon policies (1)
creativity (1)
criticism (1)
crutches (1)
curiosity (1)
custody (1)
dances (1)
date night (1)
daughters (1)
deals (1)
decorations (1)
demi moore (1)
dentists (1)
development (1)
diet coke (1)
dinner (1)
dinner table (1)
dinosaurs (1)
discounts (1)
diseases (1)
drama (1)
dreams (1)
dresses (1)
drinking (1)
dying (1)
eating out (1)
education (1)
election (1)
embarrassing moments (1)
emotional (1)
examples (1)
exhausted (1)
failure (1)
fathers (1)
fear (1)
first day (1)
first day of school (1)
first words (1)
fitness (1)
flu (1)
focus (1)
food costs (1)
forgetfulness (1)
frankenweenie (1)
frugal (1)
frustration (1)
fun (1)
funny (1)
games (1)
garden (1)
gardening (1)
gary lezak (1)
gas prices (1)
gifts (1)
girl (1)
girlfriends (1)
good cop (1)
goth (1)
grades (1)
grammar (1)
grandmas (1)
grandparents (1)
graphic novel (1)
grateful (1)
gray hair (1)
groceries (1)
guys (1)
hair (1)
hair dye (1)
haircut (1)
hairstyle (1)
halloween (1)
hanging out (1)
happiness (1)
healthy (1)
helicopter moms (1)
helmets (1)
heroes (1)
history (1)
hobbies (1)
holiday cards (1)
homecoming (1)
hoodies (1)
hooters (1)
hospice (1)
household chores (1)
how to (1)
hugs (1)
humiliation (1)
humor (1)
hungry (1)
ice (1)
imaginary friends (1)
imagination (1)
immunizations (1)
indiana (1)
indulge (1)
interests (1)
joe biden (1)
journey (1)
junk food (1)
kansas city (1)
kavya shivashankar (1)
kenny rogers (1)
kindness (1)
kisses (1)
labor (1)
late (1)
layoffs (1)
lazy (1)
learning (1)
lena (1)
library (1)
lindsey vonn (1)
long hair (1)
losing (1)
loss (1)
lost (1)
love (1)
love you (1)
mail (1)
makeover (1)
markers (1)
math (1)
matt lauer (1)
memories (1)
messy rooms (1)
michelle obama (1)
mistake (1)
mom guilt (1)
mom2mom (1)
moments (1)
mommy and daddy time (1)
morning (1)
mother-in-law (1)
mothers (1)
motivation (1)
mourning (1)
movies (1)
music (1)
nagging (1)
naked (1)
names (1)
neighbors (1)
neil diamond (1)
neurotic (1)
new year (1)
news (1)
nice (1)
night light (1)
night out (1)
nightmares (1)
no (1)
occupations (1)
old (1)
old-fashioned (1)
opinions (1)
outsmarted (1)
overprotective (1)
ozarks (1)
parade (1)
paranoid (1)
parent involvement (1)
parent involvment (1)
parent-teacher conference (1)
parties (1)
passing gas (1)
passion (1)
peeing (1)
peers (1)
pets (1)
photo (1)
photos (1)
please (1)
polite (1)
politeness (1)
politics (1)
potty (1)
pre teen (1)
preschooler (1)
president (1)
presidents (1)
principals (1)
procrastinating (1)
prom (1)
pto (1)
puberty (1)
punishment (1)
quitting (1)
raise (1)
reading (1)
regrets (1)
relationships (1)
remove tag (1)
resolutions (1)
respect (1)
responsibility (1)
road trip (1)
rude (1)
running (1)
running off (1)
ryan lochte (1)
santa claus (1)
sarah palin (1)
saving (1)
savings (1)
school clothes (1)
school dances (1)
scooby (1)
security blanket (1)
self confidence (1)
self help (1)
self-improvement (1)
sensitive (1)
sexting (1)
shooting (1)
short shorts (1)
shy (1)
sibling rivalry (1)
sick (1)
single mom (1)
single moms (1)
skiing (1)
smiling (1)
smurfberries (1)
smurfs-village (1)
snow (1)
socializing (1)
southwest missouri (1)
speech (1)
spirit (1)
spoiling (1)
sportmanship (1)
spying (1)
status (1)
stinky (1)
stitches (1)
strangers (1)
studying (1)
success (1)
sugar (1)
surveys (1)
susan boyle (1)
swearing (1)
swimming (1)
swimsuit (1)
tact (1)
talent (1)
talkers (1)
tantrum (1)
tardy (1)
target (1)
teaching moments (1)
teen driving (1)
teenage boys (1)
television (1)
temper (1)
terminal (1)
tests (1)
texting (1)
texts (1)
thank-you notes (1)
the great depression (1)
the today show (1)
therapy (1)
thighs (1)
thin girls (1)
tim russert (1)
tornado (1)
tornadoes (1)
tragedies (1)
training (1)
traveling (1)
trayvon martin (1)
trips (1)
trouble (1)
ugly (1)
vacation (1)
vacations (1)
vaccines (1)
video (1)
violence (1)
volunteeing (1)
volunteering (1)
walt disney world (1)
weather (1)
wedding rings (1)
weekends (1)
weight (1)
weight gain (1)
weight watchers (1)
winning (1)
wives (1)
women (1)
words (1)
working (1)
working mom (1)
workplace (1)
worlds of fun (1)
wrestling (1)
x-mas (1)
yelling (1)
yo gabba gabba (1)
younger guy (1)
zuckerberg (1)