Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The Grumpy Mommy

Recently I've found myself falling into a grumpy mommy rut. It's very depressing to me because this is certainly not the kind of mother that I want to be. I've been grumpy at the grocery, grumpy at Target, grumpy in the car.

Part of this I am sure is that I am adjusting to new routines and getting less exercise. I do need to find a way to make more exercise happen in my life even if that means that I get up at an unpleasantly early time to make that happen.

Part of it is that there are times when I REALLY want my pre-child level of efficiency back in my life. I just want to pick up a few things at Target. I don't want to be barraged by a half dozen requests, be told that the ice cream I've picked is not the preferred flavor and/or kind, and then have my children fight over who gets to swipe my credit card in line. All I want is to by dishwashing detergent, razor blades and laundry soap.

I just want the logistics of my life to run smoothly. It's hard for me to be relaxed about getting to work on time and the like. I've been getting up at 5:45 in the morning to take care of packing lunches, making breakfast and doing some cleaning. This way, we all can have plenty of time to eat a nice breakfast together and have a somewhat easy, relaxed time getting ready.

As a side benefit, I've actually been enjoying this quiet morning time in spite of the fact that I have more of a princess metabolism. I'd prefer to get up at 9, breakfast at 10, etc. During these early mornings, I feel very productive and organized. Also, it's really the only time that my house is quiet and serene.

My older daughter, however, is determined to thwart my efforts by fighting bedtime, fighting waking up and then procrastinating until the last minute to leave. Now that she's seven, I'm really going to have to get more creative of how to deal with it. When she was four, I would just calmly put all of her clothes in a bag and cart her out to the car. I'm not so sure that technique would work now.

In any case, the grumpy mommy rut is one that I will have to break myself out of with exercise and adjusting my expectations.



2 comments:

  1. Uugh, me too. Add to the hassle of stopping at the store to pick up a few things the fact that I have to battle my 2-year old AND China. Makes it that much more difficult, with virtually no communication skills to boot. I just want to go to a coffee shop and chat with some mommy friends! Miss you guys! Hang in there!

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  2. Don't hate me, but it's kinda a relief to me to discover that other mommies feel grumpy (and the guilt that accompanies it). Just remember that you're not *always* like that and your kids won't really look back and frown at you. You'll get through this transition!

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