Kids in the Tub

The kids are in the tub. Today has been blurred by antihistamine and Sunday doldrums. Factor in cold and dreary weather, and parenting has been at an all time low.

They have to see who you are. You are human. You are a person with emotions and reactions to their behavior, just as they are a person reacting to yours. This is a summary of advice from my mother. My mother who never ever seemed any less than the perfect mother. Even when she was losing her temper.

When my mom did lose her temper (it seems that happened more when we were little than big) I used to imagine she wasn't my mother at all. She was, perhaps, a witch. But where did those pictures of my birth come from? Oh, well, she was a witch, so she cast a spell and created them. And now she was posing as my mother. Evil.

But mostly she was perfect and calm. An even-tempered disciplinarian and nurturer.

And I am none of those things on a bad day. But the kids are in the tub and I think it's going to be just fine.