How a Child Can Ruin Your Day, or Brighten It

By the time I crawled out of bed this morning (it was only about 8 or so), Thomas had already been screaming for about half an hour. I hate mornings when the kids scream. And I knew that Zaylee had climbed into the crib with him because I could hear her jumping around in there. She knows she's not supposed to be in the crib, and she knows she's not supposed to jump in the crib. I was mad. And groggy/tired. And I'm not a morning person.

So I dragged unhappily out of bed and slumped down the hall to the kids' bedroom. When I opened the door, Zaylee called out a cheerful "Good morning Mommy!" But when she saw the look on my face she grew a bit apprehensive. As I got closer, she asked nervously, but still smiling a little, "You sleep good, Mommy?" When I got to the crib, with that Glare of Death on my face, she carefully took my cheeks in her hands, pulled my face close, and gave me a kiss.

Silence.

I looked at her, contemplating.

Then I gave up and kissed her back, and helped her gently out of the crib.

For the rest of the morning, if I felt myself thinking about saying something angry or mean, I would just not say anything at all. I only allowed myself to speak if what I had to say was cheerful or neutral, or absolutely necessary.

It worked. By the time we left for Mom's house to do the laundry, I was calm and relatively cheerful.

If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all. :-)