Two Pieces of Advice... From Me to Me

Hey Lovelies!

So...

Pick your battles. Don’t take it personal. That was my little note-to-self a few days ago when Aiden and I were having one of our not-so-good moments. I like to call them our “Growing Pains” moments.

It was during one of our morning madness days when everything that could go wrong went wrong as I was trying to get us out of the door on time. I had his outfit laid out for preschool, down to the sneakers. He refused to wear it. Apparently the entire outfit was all wrong. He wanted to wear a different pair of jeans, a different graphic t-shirt, and the Converse’s with the Velcro straps instead of the slip-on kicks I picked out. When I tried to dress him in what I picked out, he threw a tantrum. Of course.

So I decided to let him cool down while I packed his bag for the day. I know you all are gasping now, but nope.... I didn’t pack it the night before in order to save time in the morning. When I returned to the bedroom, once again, I tried to dress him in what I picked out. Yup, I’m pretty stubborn. But so is Aiden. After we went back and forth for about 10 minutes and I realized I was gonna be super late for work, I decided to let him win. After all, he should have the autonomy and some independence to pick put his own outfits as long as it’s weather-appropriate. Right? So I made a little note to self: pick your battles, SweetAl. And this was one battle that just wasn't worth it.

We finally got out the door, as I was pushing him in the stroller on the way to his school, I was still a bit irritated. About 15 minutes had passed since our "incident," yet I was still thinking about how late I was going to be for work.

When he asked me a question about a “mommy bird and baby bird,” and I grudgingly answered. I didn’t even realize that I was taking my irritation out on Aiden. I know you all are gasping again, but yea… I said it!

But the thing is, he’d forgotten about our little battle almost as soon as we’d gotten out the door, went down the elevator, and said “good morning” to the doorman in our building. So why was I still annoyed about it? It’s not like he deliberately tried to make me late for work or deliberately tried to defy me. Or did he... just kidding!

He just wanted to express his independence and autonomy by choosing his own outfit. So I made another little note to self: don’t take it personal, SweetAl; he’s just a kid.

Smooches,
SweetAl