Insanity (& toothpaste shenanigans)

Last night, my four-year-old daughter STRAIGHT UP punched me in the face with her toothbrush, with the toothpaste kindly making its way all over my hair and face.

This episode ultimately led to me stomping away, shouting crazy-mom things like, “Why the hell are my kids SO MEAN to me? I never did ANYTHING to them!” (with some additional f-bombs thrown in between) and a door-slam and weeping meltdown to follow.

It’s been less than 24 hours since her outrage and my childish meltdown, and I can fortunately say I can already laugh it all off. However, since I’ve regained consciousness, I’ve been able to reflect on the event and realize that it’s not necessarily my four-year-old that has the problem – it’s me!

What is it about kids that ultimately lead us to insanity; acting out in ways we never realized possible?! Sometimes I feel like I’m the child in this relationship and wonder what the hell is wrong with me? Then, I’m pushed back into reality and remind myself that we have the [24/7] responsibility for raising kind, loving, and accountable human beings, who – on the daily – surprise us in addition to surprising themselves. Their self-UNawareness isn’t helpful and their world as they know it is evolving at a rate that seems nearly impossible to keep up with. And to top it off, we ask them to behave in ways that even adults can’t manage. AWE, yes. No wonder our home seems more like chaos and less like “normalcy”. Hence, the toothpaste-face-smearing kind of night.

Just a friendly reminder to all my fellow crazed parents – you are not alone.

With lots of love and insanity,

-Kinsey