Terrible Two's
“Wow, I am such a great mom,” I thought to myself sarcastically. Tears in my son's eyes were now starting to roll down his red cheeks as his feelings were now crushed. All because I refused to fix his toy for the millionth time, which ended in a screaming match between the two of us. This was happening more and more lately. My sweet little guy now had a moody teenage girl and foreign diplomat with no translator, trapped inside him. He had hit his terrible twos.
If you’re looking for advice on how to handle this new child standing in front of you, I’ve got nothing. This isn’t an advice post, this is a “you’re doing the best you can, mom, you’ve got this” post. It’s going to be touchy at times, but you will hang in there. Wine helps. Kidding... or am I.......
The terrible twos never really hit our first born til about 3 years old, then it just continued into 4 and 5! Now we had a sassy five year old and 2 year old monster on our hands. I wasn’t ready. Up until this point, our little man was just that, a little gentleman. Quiet and calm. He had made the switch overnight to a screaming, running, jumping, hair-pulling, daredevil, crazy man. His sister could tell him to jump off the counter, and he would do it without hesitation. I am now fully prepared to head to the ER at any given moment. #boymom
Moms, we have one of thee best jobs there is to offer. Whether you are a stay at home mommy, or a working mother, you get to be the provider, nurturer, boo-boo kisser, chef, butt cleaner, bathroom cleaner, booger wiper, stylist, doctor, performer, story-teller, baseball catcher, first one to say good morning, last one to say good night, bad-ass woman! Best job, but one of the toughest! There are no sick days. Time off comes with a price, i.e. babysitter, or begging your parents to give you the afternoon off. But really they don't feel sorry for you, they've been there. YOU were that child once. And babysitters are only there for a couple hours. You can't just walk out of the office when you are upset. There is no public relations person to complain to. You just get to deal. And I have come to appreciate the lock on a bathroom door more and more each day. Sometimes, you just need a brief moment to collect yourself and tackle the situation at hand. I've been there, on several occasions. Like when the toilet is broken... literally shattered porcelain, with the remaining water in the bowl, running all over the floor. I "calmly" removed my son, that just destroyed my toilet, and shut the door until I could be rescued by my husband. Or another time when the entire bag of rice krispies was scattered from one end of my kitchen to the next. I shook my head, let the dogs in, and and locked myself in the bathroom so I could scream into the towels. Dogs are wonderful mess cleaners by the way. Most days I can't believe the shenanigans a 2 year can get into. Especially when he is egged on by his 5 year old sister. Be Prepared! (que: Lion King music, hyenas singing "Be Preeepaaarred!)
Being a mom has definitely been the greatest and most challenging thing I have ever done. I cried the moment both were in my arms for the first time and I have been crying ever since. Good cries, bad cries, REALLY ugly cries, but in the end I wouldn't trade those tears for anything. Oh wait, I would, one more squeeze of my hand, one more kiss on the cheek, one more hug good night. I will take the arguments and tough times as long as I am still greeted with their sweet faces everyday. Moms always remember, you've got this, you can handle anything. Your babies are only little for the time it takes you to figure out how to pronounce the hair trend, balayage. Cherish every tear, hug, puppy-kiss, triumph, failure, snuggle, temper-tantrum, dirty joke and sweet thing that your kid does, because those are the moments that create a lifetime of memories.
