The Thing That Helped Most When My Kid Was Driving Me Crazy

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kids driving me crazy helped me most Providence Moms Blog

Today’s the day I rip out my own hair.

I could feel the heat in my veins, and my frustration overflowing into every moment of my day. I have four kids, so I get to this point fairly often. The weird thing is, it is hardly ever more than one child challenging me at the same time. It’s like the kids take turns. As if they had a top-secret conversation and assigned each other certain weeks to really crank up the irritation factor.

It must be a game they play called “Who can break Mom first?” 

Well, I made it to the third week of June before crumbling at the hands of my 6 year old. This kid is something else. He has been testing his boundaries constantly, waking up every morning to see what he can do to take things just a step further.

I knew that today was going to be the day I hit my breaking point when I heard a strange popping sound at 9 o clock this morning.

What is that? Bubblewrap? Do I smell something?  I ran to my kitchen and opened the microwave to find 4 hot dogs sizzling on a paper plate.

Goodness gracious. 

I took a deep breath, called in my son, and calmly explained to him that he should have asked me before he used the microwave. I went to my room, closed the door, screamed in my pillow and begged God to get me through the day without losing my ever-loving mind. 

Then came the straw that broke this camel’s back. I was recording our day in my planner when my sweet 6 year old took my marker. When I asked for it back, he threw it behind the couch. That did it. I yelled, then cried and asked him why he was being so mean. Seriously. I CRIED AND ASKED MY 6 YEAR OLD WHY HE WAS BEING MEAN TO HIS MOMMY. You can laugh, it’s funny now.

Seriously though, when the days are filled with events like this, kids pushing and testing and making hot dogs for breakfast and trying to bully you, How. Do. You. Deal.

After my crybaby moment and a long talk with my son, I took my grievances to Facebook, because that’s where my mom-friends tend to be during the day. One of my friends who has children a bit older than mine gave me the most brilliant suggestion. 

She said that when her son was in a challenging phase, she made an acronym of his name to help her focus on his positive traits. So I did it too.

Loving

Unconventional

Keen

Earnest

That’s my Luke. Just sitting there trying to think of positive adjectives was such a great exercise. Focusing on the positives of an individual rather than the negatives is helpful to maintain the warmth in any relationship. (I should probably make one for my husband too).

So I encourage you to try this, and I hope you are as blessed by it as I was. 

The difficult days are going to come. That’s a fact. As kids grow they will certainly continue to push and test. They will also love and learn and laugh and grow right before your eyes. If you only focus on their faults, you are robbing yourselves of  a warm relationship as well as the joy that comes between the hard spaces.