You know when you have a moment of bliss where you’re like, “Ahhhh my kids are just the sweetest little nuggets in the world!”… and it lasts for about a minute before your 3 year-old, (who you were so proud of for just running into the bathroom to go potty on her own), comes bolting out of the bathroom panic stricken yelling, “I fushed da mote down da potty!!”.  My endless goal these days is to keep calm, have patience, and show grace… “Ommmmm…”.  BUT it is VERY HARD!!!!!!!  Haha!  I can slightly laugh about it today, but realistically the only toilet in our house (which is full of lots of poopers) is still clogged with a Roku remote after yesterday’s multiple failed unclogging attempts by my husband and myself.  I took a deep breath as I slowly approached the scene of the crime, partly because I simply did NOT want to face what was in the bathroom and partly because I didn’t want to wake up my currently napping one-year-old.  Hesitantly, I looked at the toilet and immediately felt a sigh of relief because at first glance it looked completely fine-clear water, normal water level, nothing appearing to be clogging it, pretty clean in fact (which is a rarity these days).  But I know my daughter.  And I know something “not good” has happened as she stands next to me sobbing.  So I do what any momma would do… push my bracelet up my arm and shove my hand into the toilet.  And then I’m pissed and really in disbelief, not because I have my hand in our toilet, but because there’s nothing there.  I feel absolutely nothing.  I mean, I reached my hand up that toilet like I was delivering a calf and there was nothing there.  And again, I know my daughter.  I know that she, in her words, “fushed it down da potty”.  So I’m most definitely not relieved to have not felt it stuck in the toilet. There’s no thought of, “Oh she’s only 3 and is probably just mistaken.  It’s most likely in the trash can or in the sink or in the living room where it should be.”  (Side note: my kids covet the remote.  They fight over it.  They want to carry it around wherever they go.  They hide it from each other.  It’s a real source of ridiculous turmoil in our house!  Uhhh!).  So, no I am not comforted by not finding it.  I know that it has somehow begun its journey to the dark depths of the toilet or beyond.  So I breathe.  I set my hysterical daughter on my bed and tell her she’s having a time out.  And I breathe again.  I want to run away.  Just run and keep running like Forrest Gump.  That’s a terrible, impossible idea—obviously!!  BUT I’m human and sometimes that’s how I want to react to things.  If you’ve ever felt that way too, find comfort in knowing that you are not alone and it’s normal!!  Life is Hard!! Being a parent is Hard!!  Running away-physically, emotionally, psychologically-is not going to make it any easier or go away.  Take it head on- like when a remote gets flushed down your toilet. Just simply push your bracelet up and get in there! 

And when I picked up my 7-year-old, Kai, from camp I tried to use it as a teachable moment.  “Yes, mommy is very frustrated at what Sophia did, but she knows it wasn’t ok, I have forgiven her, and now we’re moving forward”.  Of course, I walked around all day like a bit of a nut repeating, “I’m not going to get discouraged.  I refuse to get discouraged!”  Because this all happened before 10am.  We had an entire day left of craziness, table climbing, and a clogged toilet.  Also, a bit of advice-don’t listen to your well-intentioned husband, (who is trying so hard to be helpful), when he says to just let the kids keep using the toilet. They have endless reserves of poop in them.  And the toilet won’t flush at all.  I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. The positive take away from it all is that my mantra of not being discouraged was successful in keeping me grounded.  And the cherry on top is that Kai said it helped him too and began saying it with me.  And it came full circle with me looking adoringly at my kiddos and thinking, “Ahhhh my kids are just the sweetest little nuggets in the world!”… until one of them started clawing the other’s face off.  Well, that’s it for now.  I need to go pee under our fig tree. 

                                                        -Tara xo    

Gnarly Things to Check Out

Book: The Strong-Willed Mama Surviving and Thriving Raising Strong-Willed Children by Tami Overhauser Link to book and website

Songs: -I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor Link to song -I Will Survive + This Love Mashup (feat. Andie Case) by Pomplamoose Link to song -Another Day by Paul McCartney Link to song

Website: Tips for retrieving items flushed down the toilet

Wine: La Crema Chardonnay