Tuesday’s Act III (everything after 5 p.m.) was a tragedy. Or a misery, or whatever theatrical term means “sucky.” We discovered I’d made a frustrating, and probably costly, mistake regarding some home repairs. Opie moped and whined; he’d had a minor, but uncomfortable medical procedure done earlier in the day and the pain was breaking through. Neither Jeff or I have the slightest interest in making dinner lately, so we’d done the usual stare into the fridge, sigh, feed kids “how about some canned soup.” Even absent all of this, my general frame of mind these days is snappish and cranky; I knew June would be hard and it is, very.
Wednesday, the sun came out after days of cold and rain. Our peonies bloomed. I spent the whole day alone with the kids and didn’t lose my temper. We caught some caterpillars. We ate frozen pizza (with spinach). I set my expectations low.
It still wasn’t exactly a comedy of a day (there was no wedding at the end, for starters), but I’ll take it.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, man do I hear ya. I’m so thrilled for spring and summer, but days and days of overcast skies and damp grounds are taking a toll. We’re stir crazy and moody here.
And spinach is healthy! So yay for that pizza!
You should set aside the whole month of June as The Month of Low Expectations. Go to your local bulk food store and fill your freezer with a month of frozen dinners. It won’t condemn your children to a life of obesity and type 2 diabetes, I promise.
” I set my expectations low.”
Some days, that’s the best thing you can do.
I love that you have the clarity to set your expectations low. I need to try that more often.
June can suck it, along with August.
Thinking of you.
I’m sorry this month is so hard.
I snapped at my kids a million times today and it just made me so sad.
Low expectations – the best give you can give to yourself this month.
Thank heavens Wednesday was a happy hump day, for once. Peonies and pizza, hear hear.
We spent Act III on Wednesday in the basement, hiding out from a tornado. I think Jack had blueberries and cheerios for “dinner.”
Yeah, don’t fret about too much this month… Don’t be too hard on yourself. Let June come and go. It will be done in a few couple weeks.
Thinking of you.
Not losing one’s temper for a whole day with children is a bigger deal than it might appear.
“There was no wedding at the end…” Thank you, dear, dear, dear lady, for starting my day off with a hearty chuckle.