As a parent, I have my good days and my bad days.
And good moments and bad moments.
This one is about a little bit of both.
This morning Cooter woke up, as he is prone to do on weekday mornings, earlier than I would have liked for him to. This is one of the perks of homeschooling. We do not have to, and so we do not, start our days at oh dark thirty.
I heard him coming. He’s not the quietest mouse in the house. It was one of those split second parenting decisions that you can reflect upon later and and second guess or guilt yourself or wish you’d done it differently. But in that moment–
you just react.
I reacted.
And closed my eyes.
I just wasn’t ready yet, y’all.
So when I heard him come in the room pretty much like the proverbial bull in that China shop, I remained still, as though I were still sleeping soundly. He paused for a second when he came over to my side of the bed and saw me sleeping. Then he got quiet and crept the rest of the way until I could feel his breath on my cheek.
“Awww, Mama’s so cute,” he whispered with the sweetest tone. Then as my heart was about to bust with all the feels, he leaned over and tried to tickle my armpit, which he knows doesn’t work, and he left the room fairly quietly–at least for him.
Oh bless.
I opened my eyes and listened for clues as to what he was doing.
Ah. Legos. He was working on his birthday Lego set, the biggest one he’s ever done by himself to date. He’s been diligent and methodical, and it’s been really cool to watch him as he works it out.
And so this morning when I exhibited parenting skills that could be labelled as “less than stellar,” two things happened. Two things that needed to happen, I believe.
First, I heard Cooter’s thoughts about me. It’s funny how often I peek in on him sleeping and have that exact same thought–he’s so cute, adorable, precious. For him to think that about me and for me to hear that, it blesses my heart and gives me all the warm fuzzies. As we spend many of our days with me hounding him to get certain tasks done and him teasing me about being the “mean Mama,” this–that he sees someone other than a frazzled, worn out Mama–is a treasure.
Second, he went and occupied himself with a worthwhile task. Without being told to. He didn’t stay there and pick and poke and prod until I “woke up.” He didn’t go and bother his sister until she got out of bed, hollering at him usually. He didn’t scrape the stool across the kitchen floor to get his cereal or complain loudly about whatever was bothering him at the moment. He sat and entertained himself and thoroughly enjoyed working a little more on his Lego set. I’m really proud of him for that.
Tonight I’m thankful that tomorrow I get another chance to do better. As a Mama and as a person. Those new mercies every morning are everything–the real reason I’m able to get up in the morning, because I’ve shed the weight of all the missteps and misspoken words from the day before. That grace is what helps me rise from slumber in the mornings.
But not too early. This Mama is a night owl who needs those baby birds to sleep in just a little while longer.
Wishing you all the beauty of new mercies…..and for you to find out someone you care about thinks you are cute.
Love to all.
I Might Need A Nap 