This picture doesn’t tell the whole story of the day. The day started with this message from my son’s teacher: Missed you at the award ceremony this morning.
It’s not the message you want to receive when you just cracked open your laptop to settle in for a morning of work; or ever, for that matter.
I didn’t know about the award ceremony. Somehow, I missed the memo.
Later, my patience ran out with my daughter when she asked for a snack for the 4th time and I sent her to her room. Maybe a fine parenting response, but I had forgotten she had come home upset because the class pet (who I’ve heard about nearly every day this school year) died.
Guilt was heavy. She came out of her room and hovered, wondering if I would send her back or not. Normally, I would have. But I stopped myself.
I asked her if she wanted to help me cook, she did. She asked, “What are we going to do next, mom?” Instead of replying, “You’re going to do activities while I work.” I told her I was going to teach her how to play hopscotch. So, we played. I’ll catch up on work later.
My point is this: even bad parenting days, are usually not all bad. I regret losing my patience too quickly and even worse for missing the ceremony. Thinking of my 3-year-old son waddling across the stage without his parents to cheer him on… well, it doesn’t feel great.
But I also spent the morning figuring out how to attend a Down syndrome conference that will help me be a better parent to him. And I found a way to connect with my daughter, who I had been short with on a day she was sad.
And I’m sure it’s the same for you. You may have lost some moments, but you probably didn’t lose the day. And even if you did, there’s always tomorrow.
The day is made up of many snapshots; some of them are pretty like this one, others like the ones leading up to this, are harder to look at. Why do we focus on the pictures that don’t belong in the photo album? Moms, our kids need grace and so do we.
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