What’s for lunch?

Today I had a particularly grumpy day. Even though we are still technically on holiday, my day started with an alarm clock… Sigh… I was so enjoying waking up when I was ready. Not being rudely bombarded by that awful noise before the first bird tweeted! And it wasn’t even because I needed to get up, it was for Rob. And then he hit the snooze button a good few times… Just to add to my irritation.

Then he went back to work… Sigh… I was so enjoying having him around. Yu know how it is over the holidays… You actually get to spend time with your spouse and enjoy them! Remember why you married them even! Well I was enjoying having him around, so the fact that he was headed off to work added to my grumpiness.

Then I got up and discovered there was an overflow of laundry that had been neglected in the aftermath of Christmas socialising. And in the absence of my dear domestic worker, that laundry needed to be attended to by yours truly. Another sigh.

Then the kids complained there was no food so we would have to make a trip to Pick ‘n Pay… Ugh.

Then the dogs came in with muddy feet… Sigh…

And so my day continued, adding to the grumpiness and by lunchtime I could have given Snow White’s dwarf a run for his money.

With the diningroom table full of laundry, I opted for us to eat outside. It was a beautiful day and I thought the outside air would be good for me. But my grumpiness was resilient, so I sat and ate, scowling at my food, while the boys merrily munched their lunch, chatting away to each other.

Then they got the giggles. And if you have ever had a bad day, you will understand that ‘the giggles’ is a really annoying thing to have happen around you when you are sitting under your own personal black cloud. Initially I tried to ignore them, and not let it get to me… But they got sillier and sillier, and I got grumpier and grumpier…and then finally I reached breaking point. I snapped my head up to bite their heads right off, and for the first time noticed just how happy they all looked. Thankfully.

So I took a deep breath, and realized that I had been so busy all morning that I had barely spoken to them. Isn’t it amazing how that can sometimes happen? We become so caught up in life that we don’t make time for our own family. And as I sat there, trying to swallow my irritation and get rid of my grumpiness, I was very grateful that I had actually looked up before getting mad and letting my irritation spoil their moods. How often do we wish our kids could just get along? And here mine were. And I was about to kill their great moods because I was having a crummy day.

So instead, I bit my tongue and sat there trying to absorb some of their good mood. It didn’t really work, unfortunately, but I managed to not ruin theirs at least, and tried to enjoy the fact that they were in hysterical fits of laughter, simply enjoying being brothers.

Next time your kids are being silly, and it is irritating you, try remember that they are carefree, silly, and children for such a small percentage of their lives, and try to not let it get to you. Rather try enjoy it and capture it on video so you can show them one day. Even if it is at their 21st birthday party!