I bought a purse the other day. It's big, it's orange, it's awesome. When I got home, the kids were in a (typical) rambunctious mood. And often times - their rambunctiousness combined with our end-of-the-work-day exhaustion can result in lots of yelling, crying and (admittedly over-exaggerated) discipline.
But one of the many perks of parenting? Ultimately, we call the shots. We get to decide if today is going to be a good day or a bad day because our reactions, our tone, our attitude sets the mood. You learn pretty early on in this parenting gig that your kids feed off of you, good or bad. If you worry about something, they'll sense that and get anxious. If you're laid back, they're more apt to go with the flow.
And though they were rambunctious, and we were exhausted, I was excited because I had a brand new purse. And it was big. And orange. And awesome. But, like all new purses, mine was filled with a bunch of stuffing.
So I looked at my purse. And looked at my rammy kids. And decided I was ready to set the tone for the night. I took a handful of purse stuffing and bounced it off of Ryan's head. Then took another handful and spiked it in Lidnsey's direction. When they looked at me, stunned, I laughed and yelled, "It's snowing!" and threw the rest of the stuffing their way. They picked up what I was putting down (literally and figuratively).
Lindsey even made a snow angel.
After the blizzard had passed, they even helped clean up the mess. And I got to fill my big, organge, awesome purse with something other than tissue paper. Clearly, a win-win parenting moment.
