Some days this little babe of mine frustrates me much more than I would like. I know that this is normal, but I wish that I could be a more patient parent. Perhaps I should meditate for 30 minutes each morning, but I don't have time for that. Relaxing yoga isn't my thing; I'd rather be burning calories on a run. Drinking calming herbal tea? I already have a cup at naptime every day. My answer is to get outside. Get her outside, get myself outside. Change of environment and change of attitude. And just when I am frustrated to the max, it seems that she will say or do something that cuts through the stress, wipes the tight lipped frown off of my face, and reminds me that I love her so much, even when she is driving me bonkers.
(See that little smiling face above?)
As we were in the process of walking in the door, coming home from a long bike ride, I was a bit fed up with the feet dragging/curb walking/dawdling that had made the walk up the hill four times longer than it needed to be. And of course, I was the one carrying the bike, because she was too tired to walk it up herself. Plus, I was cold and needed to pee. So I dropped the bike, threw open the door, and as I turned to tell her to come inside NOW, she said, "Mom, look!" And when I looked, what did I see, but a tiny little bird perched on top of the woodpile. "Oh wow. What is it?" "A Carolina wren!" Yes, indeed, it was and yes, indeed, it warmed my nature loving Momma heart.