Do not get me wrong. I love Liam. Fully. Desperately. Unconditionally.
But taking care of a baby comes much more naturally to me. It's easy.
Liam is not. He is a lot of work. All of the time.
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I struggle to keep up with him. The messes he makes. The path of destruction he so gleefully leaves in his wake.In the past few days, he has pried off the wood trim from the bottom of the living room window twice with his play tools, emptied a bottle of lotion into the fish tank, and ripped up a book (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) and dunked it in the fish tank.
He whines. He yells. He refuses to eat his food.
He is a two year old.
I find myself struggling. Struggling to clean up after him all day long. Struggling to show him patience, and yet I expect it from him.
I whine. And I yell. I refuse to stop and consider that he is still learning. Still learning how to be.
Messes can be cleaned. The house can be straightened. The fish can get new water. We can start over. Again and again. Because that is what it takes to learn.
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And then the day is over. We go to sleep, and then awake. Ready to do it all again. Maybe with a little more grace this time around.
I admire you as a mom so much - you let Liam be a kid. And a lot of times that results in exasperation for you, but you always seek to do what is best for him - and letting him explore, make messes, get hurt, etc, is what's best for him. You restrict him when it's appropriate, but for the most part you allow him to be free - such a gracious gift.
ReplyDeleteSince I like toddler's better, lets swap Everett and Liam! Ha!
You have such a good attitude for such a hard task. I think your tales foreshadow what it may be like with Grace and the baby when the time comes. We call her our little tornado sometimes. :)
ReplyDeleteoh dorothy, i know exactly what you are going through, and i agree that babies are easier by far.
ReplyDeletethose first few months with two for us were so hard, but it's gotten easier, especially as d has grown a little older. it won't be like this forever:) press on, mama. you're doing a good work:)
Thanks for all of the encouragement ladies. It really helps knowing that I am not the first one to deal with messy toddlers, and i won't be the last.
ReplyDeleteAmy- It seems like Grace and Liam have a lot in common. Hopefully, having big brother Jonathan will help ease the transition from two to three.
Suzannah- Thanks for reminding me that there is a light at the end of the toddler tunnel.
And Crystal- I'd take Everett, but betweeen his citric acid allergy and River's dairy, I really wouldn't be able to eat anything...