While each child is unique and each mother finds her own way of doing things, I have found there are some universal parenting truths. I’ve got a list of them, but I’m sure each mom could add her own. I call these my “as soon as” rules. I have found that as soon as you have everyone ready for church, the baby will require a diaper or outfit change. As soon as you shut the door to use the bathroom, someone will have a crisis that requires your attention. As soon as you finish doing the last load of laundry, a child will wet the bed. And as soon as you are in the middle of cutting raw chicken or mixing meatloaf with your hands the phone will ring.
So much of enjoying motherhood seems to come down to how you chose to look at things. It is so frustrating when you run into one of these situations that it can be a big temptation to indulge in self-pity or let anger take control. I’m not saying it’s easy and I’m sure not saying I do it perfectly, but it has helped me to look for the humor in these situations and to try to find something to be thankful for. So while it was frustrating that I accidentally laundered a dirty disposable diaper, I do need to be thankful that my son knew dirty things go in the hamper. So when everything seems to be going wrong, let’s take a deep breath, maybe self-medicate with a little chocolate and then do our best to give thanks in all situations. What a great example we can be to our kids when they get frustrated, too.