Yesterday was one of the worst crabby days I’ve seen in my son, as he is starting to break in the lower canines. Holy cow, this
little guy would scream randomly and clamor for me to pick him up only to jump
out of my arms, throw food and sippy cups, wail in his car seat, and generally
be a pain in the patootie. Thankfully, my mom spent the afternoon with us and
so it didn’t seem too unbearable. You know your toddler is cranky when a random
Target employee says funny, friendly things to your kid in order to distract
him. I think he ate six crackers in our attempt to basically shut him up
(snacks are rare).
By the time I got home I was ready for an extra-large sized
cocktail. Which I did indulge in, and it did calm my nerves.
Before I get too far with this rant, I should say that I had
an attitude adjustment even in the middle of all of this. I’m part of the meals
ministry at our church, and occasionally deliver a meal to someone who’s sick
or just had a baby. Yesterday I brought a pizza to a house, and met a young
woman from church who just had a baby. I didn’t know anything about their
story, but she cheerfully shared with me. The boy was born breech two weeks
early, and the next day had to have brain surgery for a hemorrhage. She introduced
me to this sweet, little thing who had an oxygen tube taped on, and several inches of
stitches all around his tiny head. He’s doing well, though, and is expected to
make a full recovery. She was beaming with joy, and all I could think was what
a miracle this child is.
Witnessing this beautiful boy who spent the first month of
his life in the NICU made me grateful for a lot – not from a place of pity, but
of awe.
This morning, Mr. Cranky Pants was giving us more challenges
and I nearly lost my cool in my exhausted haze just trying to get out the
door (not at him, though – just in general), but I got the job done. Nothing
like a big traffic jam when you’re already 45 minutes late to give you a chance
to breathe.
I was reminded of a saying from Winston Churchill: If you find
yourself going through hell, keep walking. That's probably a bit dramatic for this, but I'll take it anyway.
