Today I bought a pass to the Orem Fitness Center. It was 20% off, and waaaay cheaper than our Salt Lake pass. I also discovered a new machine I had never used before: A lateral. I loved it.
Then I came home and spent the day recovering from my work-out. I kind of think that’s a clue that next time I should go a little easier. At any rate, I made lots of progress in my book, and Lydia played right next to me most of the time. She played more imagination today than she has in a long time, so perhaps being a checked-out mom isn’t all bad.
On the other hand, by the time I finally did get around to active parenting (post dinner–so sad!), Lydia was so tired that I lost patience with her really quickly. We were working on some preschool workbooks, and by the end we were both a wreck.
So after a phone call with my family, I resolved to start over and try harder. I went to Lydia, who by then was a bawling, incoherent, hysterical mess, and asked her to forgive me for being so impatient earlier. We sat down and did better! Initially I resolved to do nothing but affirm her in session #2, but since I am a compulsive correcter, I couldn’t manage that. What I did manage was correcting more patiently, and Lydia responded beautifully.
Seriously, events like today’s lead me to believe I am the source of my three year old’s behavior problems. If I could be more patient and kind ALL the time, then maybe she would never throw tantrums. Maybe her tantrums are just my negative energy thrown back at me. I don’t know, but I definitely know that when I am more patient and kind, it helps a lot.
Pivoting: Our neighbors, Lauri and Summer, came over and visited for an hour this evening. Summer is going to babysit the girls next week while I’m at school, so after I gave Summer a run-down on our routines, we all just sat around and visited. I love our neighbors and neighborhood.
The only picture I managed to take today happened this morning. I thought it came out okay. Mary was chowing down on a lemon, and I ran for my camera…but by the time I got it, she had moved on. The picture still came out, though!
