I think my children generally act pretty appropriately. Yes they have their misbehavior, but I like to think, at least, that their behavior is age appropriate.
We’ve had a rough week this week, particularly with my middle two. The first weeks of school are just utterly exhausting for little bodies. And that exhaustion is coming out in their behavior.
Mae came home from preschool today and was not very happy with her lunch options, and she let me know it in a way that we just don’t accept around here.
So I sent her to time out.
She sobbed.
Finally it was time to get out, and she went back into the kitchen and finished her lunch.
Then I saw her peeking around the corner. I heard, “Mommy? You still love me even when you are mad at me, right?”
It’s a conversation we have had dozens of times. And every time I answer, “yes my baby girl. I love you. There is nothing you could ever do to lose my love. Even if I am very, very angry, I love you very, very much.”
Today’s question seemed a bit different. She already knew the answer. She just wanted to hear it. And I am always more than happy to tell her.
We mess up, and they mess up. We dance this messy tango of life, and try to navigate our own weaknesses and how they mingle with those of our children.
Maybe those mistakes don’t matter as much as we think they do as long as our children always know the answer to that most important of questions.
“Will you always love me?”
“Yes baby, Mommy will always, always love you. You can’t lose it. You can’t break it. You can’t tarnish it. It’s a given.”
To the moon and back.