Issue 63  November 20th 2015

Hello All! I hope this issue finds you well!

I now fully understand the phrase "the struggle is real" when describing a two year old! A little over a week ago we celebrated my son's second birthday. The party went really well. Lots of friends and family and tons of fun! Surprisingly, my son enjoyed every second of the 2 hour long birthday--no melt downs! Victory!

Since the party, my kiddo has really started to test his boundaries. It is amazing how much more he is communicating and how much more he understands---in the same thought---it is also a difficult time. I was talking to a friend of my mine and mentioned how exciting it is when my sweet boy tells me something and I know exactly what he is talking about. It is also thrilling when I give him a direction and he knows precisely what to do! As I said this to my friend, I watched as my son (in our weekly gym class) tries to pull a kid away from the tunnel he wanted to crawl through. Of course I run over to redirect my son and his body goes limp---ohhhh boy---here it comes---meltdown! The struggle is real!

Today, I took my son to see his cousin's dress rehearsal at his elementary school. My child was very happy, especially when he saw his cousin appear on stage! This is great, I thought. Then when his cousin had to go sit with his class and my son was not able to go see him---it was like the world was over. He was not a happy camper. And again, the struggle is real!

On our car ride home, as I am feeling frustrated and tired, from the backseat I hear clapping and my son starts saying his cousin's name over and over. In this moment, I knew he loved the show. He was happy to see his cousin and in his mind, that little moment of disappointment was just that--a moment.

I think as parents, we work so hard to make things special or do fun things with our children and when a meltdown comes, all we can focus on is that one rotten moment. We climb into the car or sit down for two seconds with a feeling of defeat or irritation that this job as a parent is so tough and sometimes feels like nothing can go right and then your child does something to let you know they are happy! (like the clapping in my backseat). I am learning: the struggle is real, the meltdowns will happy, BUT more importantly my child is happy and healthy and I just need to let those tough moments go and relish the GREAT moments!

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy issue #63!