You know it’s going to be a rough day when you wake up at 7am and it’s supposed to be 6am.
The difference between 6am and 7am is a calm, quiet cup of kid-less coffee.
6am means there is no one at your door, there is a quiet moment for email and Hollywood Gossip and you gets a chance to wake up.
At 7am there is none of that.
7am means you jump out of bed, you chug half your cup of coffee before forgetting about it, and you have kids begging for breakfast before you have a chance to properly respond to the snotty email you have sitting open on your computer.
Who sends snotty emails at 7am anyway?
And yes that is a pounding headache you have. A gift in the morning for forcing yourself into rush mode.
Waking up at 7am means you never had time to respond to the snotty email and instead will fester over it all morning until the kids are gone at school and you can properly address it.
You ignore the computer, jump right into the morning breakfast ritual and before you know it you are shoving kids out the door with backpacks to catch the bus.
Wait!
You rush after them to sign their homework logs because somehow you’ve found yourself in a school system that requires you to sign off on homework or your kids suffer the consequences.
Why do I have homework?
You take your pounding head back into the house and rally the preschoolers for their drive to school and the rest of the day? It goes to Hell in a hand basket.
Children spit half chewed string cheese all over your floor. They chip dry wall off of your fire place during nap time because they’re bored. They poop, they pee, they spill. You miss deadlines, your head still hurts and you are irritable and barely hanging on at the end of the day. Never mind that stupid email. You don’t have time to fight strangers online today.
When it’s bed time you yell upstairs to your kids to get their pajamas on while you clean the kitchen. You shout for them to brush their teeth and get in bed. And when you go upstairs to tuck them in you find they have ignored all of your ‘get ready for bed’ instructions and are in fact still playing games.
You will say, “Excuse me! I asked you to get your pajamas on and head to bed” and the children will not budge.
“It’s TIME for bed!”
Again they will not blink, they will not move, they will absolutely ignore you and you can’t help but flash forward 8 years to a group of teenagers with an utter lack of respect for the mother who has given them quite literally, everything. You will know if you don’t nip this behavior now, you risk forever losing any kind of control over them. They will think you are a joke. You will become the Mom they tell to shut-up in front of their friends.
The rush of the horrible day coupled with this flash of the horrible future will send you into that horrible octave of yelling, just above “lunacy”, that scares every living being in the house, including yourself.
You will scream something about respect. You will scream something about refusing to be ignored. You will scream about how you will not be treated like you are invisible by your own children in your own house. You will scream about how you don’t even like screaming, but by God you will not be disrespected and if they can’t hear you ask them to get up and get ready for bed than YOU WILL MAKE THEM HEAR YOU!!!!
The children will cry and rush themselves to their beds in their jeans and dirty shirts.
Afraid of you.
And you will stomp back downstairs hating yourself. You will clean your house vigorously at 9 o clock at night because good Moms clean and they control themselves and they don’t let the accumulative crummy day and disrespectful children push them over the edge.
Before going to bed you will crawl over to your kids to hug them goodnight. They feel bad about not listening to you and you will ask them to do better tomorrow. You will feel bad about yelling so loud and you will promise to do better too.
Tomorrow will be a better day.
You will start it at 6am instead of 7am.
At least now it’s sparkling clean.
hilljean says
That quiet time is so important! Sorry it was a rough day :( I’ve had many of those myself. Sigh.
Gigi says
We’ve all been there, I swear. And you are right tomorrow will be a better day.
Cyrene says
Sending you virtual hugs. I know how that feels like, and I only have 1 kid!
Karen and Gerard says
Wow, my bad day was nothing compared to yours! I feel better now, thanks! Hope you have a GREAT day today and was up at 6 a.m.
Jen says
I can totally relate. I’m having one of those days right now! Hand me a crowbar, will ya? I can’t get my teeth unlocked. :-\
Bekah says
It’s like one of those cartoon snowballs that get bigger and faster as they roll downhill…only not so funny. That’s what tommorrows are for!
tracy@sellabitmum says
Huge hugs, my dear. Been there. Oh my I wish we would not have to be there…but we do. xoxo
Joanne says
Aw!!! Curse on the snotty emailer!
Christie @randomreflectionz says
I just hate those days. Here’s to a better today!
Tara Adams says
That hour alone in the morning means the difference between sanity and verbal attacks in the evening at my house, too—especially now that I have those teenagers that don’t listen to me to whom I have given literally EVERYTHING and for whom I STILL have to sign work!
Cynthia Meents says
We’ve all been there, some of us more than others. I may or may not have been there on a regular basis when the kids were home.
Maggie S. says
Teens sometimes have smart mouths because they are secure in your love. Like in the olden days when you hit the effing limit.
I know, believe me. I invented it. Down to the sick stomach.
Jodi T. says
Wooooah… I really REALLY hate days like that. I hate to scream (even tho I’m really good at it). I feel like “Monster Mom” and I usually end up going into my kids’ rooms and telling them I’m sorry for losing my temper, which makes me feel bad too, because “THEY” say you aren’t supposed to apologize. It’s all so convoluted. I just try to show them I love them even if my head sometimes rotates 360 degrees.
:) Hope you have a better day. Tomorrow. :)
Arnebya says
Oh, these days. I knows ’em well. Today will be better.
P.S. — I still have the vodka.
Jamie says
Love it! Couldn’t have said it any better myself. It’s comforting some how to know that the same.exact.thing is happening at every other mom’s house daily.
Nicole @MTDLBlog says
Oh boy….have I been here…too many times..and more than I’d like to admit. And I am SO glad I am not the only one who’s lost it because she flashed forward to those dreaded teen years…ha! :-)
*sigh*
Motherhood is tough and we can’t do it all well, all the time. Tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity for better. What makes you a good mother is the fact that you recognize you had a less than stellar moment and you will try to improve. Your kids will love you for being that kind of mother…human, flawed and real. XO.
Nicole @MTDLBlog says
PS: Ignore the ridiculous emails….who could be rude to you? Forward it to me, I’ll handle them for you. ;-)
Tammy says
“Mama said there’d be days like this… ” of course we were too busy picking drywall off the fireplace to listen. Hang in.
Jen @ Cuddles and Chaos says
Man have I been there. As horrible as it sounds, it’s always so nice to hear of someone else having the exact same kind of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Chris Carter says
Okay, I believe this was my FAVORITE post of all!!! You damn near NAILED IT!!!! I. Get. It. Bless your heart!! BEEN there oh so many times!!!!!!!! Especially having that looming nasty email, toxifying your day even more… HATE when ugly things burden you down especially when you are already thrown off and struggling!!! poor YOU!!! I totally understand every single thing you did that day and said that day and felt that day and thought that day. Thanks so much for your total HONESTY. Brilliant job!!
Oddyssey says
I am soooo glad that I’m not the only one who’s ignored and who yells like that once in a while. I hate being ignored more than anything else and I’ve lost my cool like that a few times. I feel terrible too, when I do that. I think it’s an “occupational hazard” of being a Mom. Thanks so much for sharing!
Cindy says
Thank you for reminding me that I am not the only one that has days like this.
My husband wonders why I have to get up so early in the morning – it’s becasue the older the kids get the earlier they get up. I need some me time to function as a half – way normal mom!
trish says
OMG, I could have written every word of that post! (Why do we have to sign off on the hw log everyday?! And why are the kids punished if we don’t?!). And I could write it everyday. You know why? Because I get up at 7am. I am getting up at 6am starting tomorrow. I bet I have a better day than I normally do.
Deidre says
Thanks for keepin it real for us Real peeps:)
M says
I couldn’t agree more. I keep setting my alarm for 6am hoping for some peace but waking up late and it just throws the whole day off!
Andrea says
Holy crap! I’ve had that day.
Clearly Kristal says
Oh, I can soooo relate. I had that day yesterday! Thanks for making me feel like a not-so-lousy mom…and human. Love your blog! So glad I found you.
Mamarific says
Oh yeah, we’ve all been there. Hate those kind of days!!!
Jen says
Days like that are best forgotten and given a big ‘F you!’ as you go to bed.
Tracie says
7 am is just wrong. I had it happen to me this morning. Here’s hoping we both wake up at 6 tomorrow.
Recovering Supermom says
Yep, you nailed it. I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. Here’s to a better tomorrow!
Carpool Goddess says
That hour before everyone wakes up is the best :)
Hope says
Wow!. I’ve certainly had one of those days. That quiet time is so important. Here’s to getting up at 6 am…cheers!
Mimi says
Sigh…Kat, I live for Wednesdays. I have the day to myself. I’m not a morning person and sleep in as long as I can. I tell you what, I have these stinkin’ days too and I’m so discouraged by the end of the day. =/ You’re not alone, that’s for sure! <3
Andrea says
That was me yesterday when I found out my daughter lied about taking hot lunch and came home with a still-full lunch box. Let’s just say her piggy bank is now $3.25 lighter than it was before. I also was yelling about someone ringing the doorbell at 7:30 pm during bath time. And didn’t answer….until they then rang it 6 times. I was prepared to scream my head off until I opened the door and discovered I was being tormented by the demented children of the neighborhood. I was being ‘ghosted’ and on the doorstep was a bucket of candy, a note to pass the fun on and a pumpkin scented candle.
It kind of reminded me that yelling wasn’t worth it and tomorrow I’d get a chance to start all over and this time, do better.
Kay says
Oh, how I’ve been there, yesterday was that day for me as well, must be in the stars! I’m actually glad to know I’m not alone. It’s also good that we know it and can start over the next day and do better! Hoping today is a better day!
Roo [NiceGirlNotes] says
Homegirl, I want to hug your whole face so hard right now.
I KNOW THAT FEEL, BRO.
On those nights, I’m like God please please please don’t let them remember this one.
Charity Deleon says
We all have those days, quite time is so important it helps you collect yourself for the day ahead. And remember you are only human and entitled to lose it occasionally. It happens!
mommaTang says
That was really awesome. I totally know what you mean, especially the part about screaming that you don’t even like screaming!