Day #19

Things That I Tell My Kids That I Should Be Listening To Myself, Day 19:

"You can choose to have a Good Attitude, or not...It is up to you.  "

Sometimes I forget that I have that choice- and let me tell you, in the relentless and often tedious world of raising little kids that I live in, that can make for some Veeeery Long Days.  Or Very Fun Days.  

Depending on which one I choose.

***

Just an accident- but this kind of stuff happens every day. 

When I choose to have the right attitude, we learn a lesson, deal with it and move on- and in this case, snap some pictures and share a good laugh :) 

Sadly, I don't always have the grace for this kinda stuff and what is even sadder is the impact that my bad attitude has on our whole family- it is really like a poison spreading through every one until we are one big grumpy family.  It is not pleasant.  And I have the power to avoid it...well, on most days :)

For me, the key is lowering my expectations.  And I mean really, really lowering them- and then just going with the preschool/toddler/infant flow of things. This might be a morbid analogy but Sean says the reason so many drunk people survive car accidents is because their bodies are loose due to delayed reaction time and they are literally able to roll with the punches.  

I need to be more like that...minus the drunk driving part of course. 

I need to loosen up and when an accident happens, I need to take just one extra deep breath before reacting and really think about how my reaction- my body language, my facial expressions and my choice of words will impact my child (or husband) and even myself and the rest of our day. Right in that moment, I have the power to build up or break down someone that I love dearly and the choice is mine.  Aaaaall mine.