I made it! I ran the 5 mile mark this morning. My route took a bit of planning with such a strong south wind. When isn’t the wind blowing in Kansas?! I ran against the wind for the first mile then with a cross-breeze for the next, behind me for mile 3, and across for miles 4 and 5. Birds, a skunk, a few peppy feeling cattle AND I MADE IT. BOOM.
Running is so mental. It is a vacation from all else going on in the world and yet quite a test for the task at hand. I will admit that I did walk from one electric pole to the next about 3 times during my run so my body could cool down. I’ve been warned repeatedly by every medical AND non-medical expert that the easiest way to flare my MS tingling and numbness is to overheat.
We celebrated a family wedding this weekend. My husband was a groomsman. My kids behaved better than I could have ever hoped! I only had to correct my son once during the toasts at the reception and make him sit down and for it being a full Catholic wedding (1.5hrs from when we sat down to when we cheered the bride and groom out of the church), they both responded well to my busy bag ideas. Sunday after church was a different story….
The Tantrum
We have been going hard for the past week. A wedding, work, honestly just to remember everything I would need to open my calendar again. Sunday was supposed to be a break and a day of rest and relaxation. We attended church and then headed to town for a nice lunch and the grocery store. Lunch went well. Kind of looked like a ketchup explosion at our table, but hey, pick your battles and leave a healthy tip for the waitress.
The grocery store started well. At ages 4 and 2, the kids still sit in the cart so I/we can keep them contained. My daughter (2), would not keep her buns in the bottom of the cart. After repeated warnings and crossing half the store, I was DONE with the requests. She was told to sit on her buns or I would strap her in the toddler seat in the cart. See where this is going?
Back by the electronics where I needed a 6V battery, dressed in our Sunday best, I strapped my daughter in the toddler seat. Cue the ensuing tantrum. 10 aisles later, I am still calmly talking to her and readjusting her kicking feet back into the two leg holes as she screams. My son (4) is sitting with his hands covering his ears trying to tell his sister that “fits don’t get us what we want EVER.” My husband has excused himself to the restroom.
Hello dirty looks from other shoppers…. (Sunday is a busy shopping day at the grocery store.)
As I round the cereal aisle, a caring lady stops my cart and starts calmly talking to my daughter while I rip open the 9pk of toilet paper that is headed to our home to wipe her nose. She sweetly talks to my little girl among the screams as I explain in two short sentences why she is throwing a fit. She looks at me with the most reassuring look and says, “It’s OK mom. I have 13 grandchildren.” After that, I was glared at 9 out of 10 times as my husband (who followed the screams to find us) and I headed to the checkout. Two more sweet grandmotherly ladies stopped to reassure both my daughter and me and give my son a kind pat on the head before we made it out of the store.
To those three sweet ladies – Thank you. Your kindness touched me and made me feel a little less like the mommy monster. I am doing this to teach my daughter to listen. There are consequences when we don’t follow instructions. I am doing this to raise a responsible person that does not throw fits to get what she wants. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.
Laugh.Cry.Giggle.Smile. 