It happened on Monday. Nui Nui threw her very first public tantrum. It wasn't pretty. I guess it never is.
Things have been admittedly a little stressful— work and getting settled in has been a process. It happened at Trader Joes and I realized, after processing what had happened, that her fit escalated because she wanted so bad to play with the little-sized shopping cart but she had to so badly go to the bathroom. We didn't have her toilet seat and she is still too afraid of sitting on the toilet without it, despite my reassurance that I would hold her and she wouldn't fall in. But nonetheless, she refused to go and ended up peeing in her pants. It was devastating— for both me and her. Shook me up a little, in fact, and has made me rethink my approach.
When you're continuously tired and stressed, it changes you. You become a person you shouldn't and don't want to be. I can't change the stress of work or necessarily the tiredness (I have been going to sleep earlier), so those things remain as is. But it's not what life deals you, it's how you deal with it. Leave work at work. Acknowledge your grump. Love like you mean it. That's what I resolved to do better.
And, for sure, it makes a difference. Worried about the consequences of a tantrum, I didn't know what to expect next. I mean, I didn't expect it to begin with. But the very next day, Mom texted me this:
And the following day, pickup looked like this:
Life's not perfect. Try your best. Communicate and love. Just some friendly life reminders.
How do you deal with stress and exhaustion?
Share in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! xoxo
