Positive family dynamics are very tenuous in my household right now. I say this as my daughters are happily playing a dot game on paper and little D is eating an after school snack. After I had to discipline him for missing the bus. After he lied about being asleep in class, then fessing up that he just chose not to get on the bus, again. That’s just one little drop in the bucket.
January was rough. We had to call for backup. I’m not ashamed to have to ask for help. Two weeks ago I kind of felt like I needed to change everything about the way I parent one of my children. It felt like she and I had fallen into a deep, dark hole together. I felt like I should have been the one to hold onto a safety net and bring her with me back to the surface. But I didn’t. I went right down with her. And there we lay, angry, confused, hurt, scared. My mother-in-law was my backup. Thank God for Mickey! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been that mad in my life. It’s kind of scary to think that my children can push me over that edge; that even though I resolve never to let that happen, it could, because it happened once.
So, here we are after school on a Monday. Everyone is in pretty good spirits. We have a checklist of chores on the refrigerator that needs to be completed tonight. Kids need to read 20 minutes. One needs to complete a homework packet. They all need showers and lunches packed. The dogs should be walked. But, I’m not gonna rock the boat. Those things can wait . . . until Zach gets home 🙂