Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Gods Rollercoaster for Parents

Today has been one of those days that makes me want to run away from home. Luckily, my husband is so hot, I would never seriously consider that.

Why, oh why, do children have random bursts of mental retardation? I can't understand it. Nap time... such a simple concept. A 4-almost-5-year-old should be able to grasp this, right?
Easy steps to a good nap: Turn on humidifier and ceiling fan, close blinds, pull hanging curtains over window, lay down on top of fluffy white down comforter, pull today's favorite stuffed animal close, cover up with personalized "Abigail" blanket, close eyes... sleep!

It's even easier when your (smirk) beautiful, hip mother does everything for you to have this perfect nap. BUT WAIT... I need to sing, potty, put on lip gloss, read, sing some more, tell a story to an empty room, brush hair, tangle hair in lip gloss, put sponge rollers in the mane of Lex's stick horse, stare with a blank look at my beautiful, hip, mother as she threatens me with a paddling, ("If I hear one more sound -look at my face- coming out of your throat, I will -look at my face- spank you with the paddle. AbiLyn, -look at my face- what will happen if -look at my face- I hear one more -look at my face- sound coming from your room?") endure 2, YES 2, paddlings, in spite of said warnings.

Finally, I give up on thinking she will be able to fall asleep simply out of fear of yet another spanking. I just sit on the end of her bed, stewing about the stubbornness of this disobedient child, and reading my book... It crosses my mind, that I am reaping what I sewed as a child, but I quickly push that out of my mind. Then this crazy thing happens... My intense anger at this obstinate child evaporates. I happened to look at her face at the exact moment her eyes finally dipped closed and stayed closed. I stare at her beautiful eyelashes as they rest against her cheek; her lips that, when relaxed, stay in a bit of smile. I realize that I'm looking at complete peace: a 4-almost-5-year-old, asleep on a white, down comforter with the glow of the closed pink curtains from the window making the pink of her cheeks and the red of her lips resemble a fairy tale princess, listening to nothing but the humidifier and ceiling fan. I wonder, is there anything more beautiful than her?

That's when it hit me, God knew what he was doing when He made kids so darn cute! He was ensuring that the human race would exist past Cain and Abel!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

that was precious! I relived that very moment all over again, while I was reading your post. I guess we have all been there at some point, the ending will always be the same though! there is no way on Earth we could stay mad at our children for more than like 2 seconds.....they are the closest things to angels on Earth! Enjoyed reading!

Michele said...

Aw, Liz...I'm all misty-eyed. That was sweet!

Eric Droke said...

Awesome job, Good Lookin'! I almost let a little tear find my cheek on that one. I know those precious little smiling lips, too. I know it's an emotional spin cycle sometimes, parenthood, but you can never say it's dull. Thank God for truly abundant life.