Friday, February 22, 2013

Force QUIT to Restart

This morning I woke up with level hormones and a plan for the day.

The kids were sleeping quietly as I spent the first hour or so with my Lord.

Happy.  Content.  In control.

Then it happened.

I was informed that Rainy and Zeke were on a 3-hour delay.

3 hours.

Seriously?!

And for what...it wasn't even raining outside!

And on top of that;

Josh was about to leave town for the weekend.
It was gloomy and cold.
The kids were already bickering with each other.
Alethia told Zeke that mommy was being mean.
And did I mention that the plans I had planned for the day were no longer applicable?!


All of a sudden I was the one with the "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and I had NO INTENTIONS on changing my attitude!

I was in control.
Then everything was out of control.

Mama the Grouch had taken over.

I felt justified in my grouchiness and was too prideful and selfish to change my heart.

But I knew that my attitude was going to make this weekend miserable for everybody.

I opted for an outing, even though every ounce of my being just wanted to lock myself in my bedroom, crawl back into bed and pout the day away.

I informed my kids (as if they couldn't tell already) that I was having some issues and that I needed their help to calm my heart and attitude.

I let them grab their Valentine $1 from Nonnie and G-Daddy and we headed to Target.

Our first stop was in the party department to get the necessary essentials for Areyna's birthday party next week.  Then we headed over to the $1 spot (which is THE BEST idea Target has ever had) and let them pick out whatever their little hearts desired.

Typically things like this tend to give me a panic attack, but something was softening inside.

As I slowly walked up and down the aisles with them, listening to the excitement of all their choices, I kept receiving comments by passersby about my hands being full, and how brave I was for venturing out with my small Colony, and I was forced to make a decision.

Do I really want to be THAT mom who snaps at her kids all the time just because things aren't going as planned?
What does that prove to the world?  That kids are an inconvenience and that my "hands are too full" to offer any ounce of laughter and spontaneous fun?

So, I could either grouch my way through this weekend, easily annoyed and feeling sorry for myself, or consider this 3-hour delay the start to a fun-filled weekend with my kids (because let's face it, why even make your kids go to school after a 3-hour delay?).

So right there, in the middle of the cheap candy and toys I pushed the "FORCE QUIT" button on the grumps and opted to "RESTART" with a much better attitude.

It's never too late to restart your day.  Sometimes it takes a while to reboot, and most likely some apologies will need to be made, but life is just too short to grump your way through it!

***Self-Preaching Complete***

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