Mums can throw tantrums too

Have you ever seen a toddler throw a momentous tantrum in a supermarket? Dropping to the floor, dead weight, red face squeezed so tight you wonder if it might stay that way if the wind changes? Children everywhere are throwing tantrums for endless reasons…wanting a lolly, not wanting to leave a park, simply being tired. I was recently reading this article on Kidspot recently about toddler tantrums and how to tame them. However the question beckons…have you ever seen a Mum throw a tanti? I’m sure that there are many Mums out there who have looked and felt like this angry little toddler. Mothers everywhere often have every reason to chuck a wobbly and I’m sure that they have thought about doing so. Being tired, exhausted, work, housework, dog poo, human poo, dirty nappies, laundry, nothing to wear, nothing clean to wear…the list goes on. I’m sure Mothers could be forgiven for throwing a little (big) tantrum once in a while.

Well I sort of did just that last week. In fact I think that I have done it more than once in the last year. My husband and I have always loved the fact we never fight. We are best mates, pretty relaxed and always have a good laugh. We are both Gemini’s – born three days apart. People often talk to me about Gemini’s having split personalities and I’ve always said that this does not describe me. Well after this week, I stand corrected. I now know that I am the definition of a Gemini. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

You see, after working full time for a week, I found myself putting Ella to be the other night and upon reaching into her drawers for a sleep suit, found nothing there. She had no clean sleep suits, no clean singlets. I am embarrassed and sorry to say, that I put her to bed in pyjamas that she wore the night before. From there things got worse. I got my clothes ready for work the next day and found myself with no clean underwear. In fact in the laundry I found the washing basket full, with a huge pile also next to it. I hadn’t had a chance to do washing in a week, and now I was paying for it. In fact when I looked around my house I started to feel a sense of panic as I realised I was actually living in what looked like a bomb site. Heaven forbid anyone come over. Ella was getting three molars at once, my dog hadn’t been walked in a week, I ran out of dog food, dishes in the sink. It all felt like too much.

The next morning I completely lost it. Another bad night of teething we both woke up from only a few hours sleep. I went to bed as Kate and woke up as a psycho. Dan and I left the house for the first time without speaking with each other. I nearly fell asleep at work. I’m surprised that I didn’t have a tantrum right in the middle of our school car park (now wouldn’t that be a sight!). People had told me that lack of sleep changes everything, and this day it really did. We were getting more sleep than we had when Ella was first born, but now that I am back at work three days, a few bad nights combined with a messy house caused a huge chain reaction in my brain.

There is nothing like a good laugh to put things right. Thankfully I work with some pretty amazing people who helped me do just that. Working with kids ironically also helps make you smile, when you are feeling overwhelmed about your own parenting problems. Needless to say, I know that my problems are tiny compared to some. I’m healthy, happy and really am blessed. I guess I just needed to put it down to a bad week and like all other things, it must come to an end.  I probably need to be a bit kinder to my husband 🙂 Until the next teeth break through anyway…

Like the picture says…Keep Calm and Mother On!