Oh Mr. Morning, We Meet Again

Oh man - I am so so so so so normal :).

thank you for that sweet reminder. here in our neck of the woods we have had some challenging nights and days too. thank you for putting it all into perspective. this too shall pass, and it is foolish to wait for perfect days.

Love, love, love the quote. We always have so much to learn. My son is a little older, but has always been the same way. I thinks it takes a lot of energy for him to behave for so long. We have to have a "Quit picking on Mom" chat once in a while. It seems to help him to realize what he is doing and think about what will help the situation. Hey, we are all on the same side!
Signed, Mom seeking normal days.

Hello, Ali. Thanks for the post and perspective, as well as the comments from your readers.
We have a 7-year-old with ADHD, and I recognize Mr. Morning Challenge. Both my boys (I have a 3-year-old too), have been having some problems lately with agression and grumpiness about school, and we have all been sick to top it off. I have learned that the third and fourth week of school are not only when the honeymoon is over (if there has been one), but also when the new germs the boys have encountered bloom out. =P
We try to reinforce the positive. We have some lists of responsibilites, and beyond that we use rewards for time at favorite activities when the boys go out of their way to do good stuff. When things get _very_ bad (the little one bites his brother for no reason, the big ones hits and kicks at school), we "ground" them. No video games, TV or computer time for x days. They can still earn time, and we never take away the time they've earned, but they can't spend it when they are grounded (also sometimes referred to as being in the dog house).
Yesterday, though, I pretty much hit my limit. My husband says I am like a bridge; I seem to be doing fine right up until the point where I am not (picture the span of my composure snapping and everything suddenly going very loud, cold and wet), so I decided I needed some reminders to encourage my own good behavior too. The poem was timely, because I have decided is to make a note every evening of something good about my day, something good about each of my boys, something good about my husband and something good about myself as a reminder of how much in our life IS good. I want to also be sure to share those positive things with each of them as well.
It is SO easy to get overwhelmed by what is bad and gripe about what isn't working. It is much more important to focus on what is positive and let go the things that wreck your attitude and sleep as much as you can.
Easier said than done, but thanks, _sincerely_ for the reinforcing post. I will keep working on it and be glad that there are som terrific examples of grace under pressure out there for me to follow.
Good luck with your own positivity campaign. =]

Amen Ali! I couldn't have said it better. I'm dealing with a defiant 7 year old who thinks he knows everything. Thank God for normal days...they truly are missed when they leave.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the quote! Thanks for sharing it... and your Simon sounds a lot like my little boy after school!

Love this post--your voice and that quote at the end. I'm feeling a scrapbook page coming on. . .
Thank you.

Hey my responsibility chart looks like yours (at least the video games) I think by October the newness of the new year wears off, it's getting colder, and it's dark outside longer. And by now they are really down to business in the classroom.
I have my son earn his video game time, by doing chores, each chore earns 15 minutes of play time. And only 1 hr of playing at a time.
And he loses the playing time if he does something he knows he's not supposed to do.
Good luck with the rest of the year. And thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the quote.
i needed it today.

I have read your blog for several years now and really like it. I had not check blogs for a few days and am doing so today. Today i have been having a really rough one can't seem to turn off the tears. The past few months have been very hard since the loss of my Dad a couple of months ago. Any way your life verse spoke volumes to me and I want to thank you for sharing. We never know just when something we post is going to be something that someone else needs also.

You posted this quote last fall (at least I think it was you) at the most perfect time. We'd weathered (no pun intended) Hurricane Ike. Electricity was back on. Everyone was back in his/her own home. The lawn debris, while still in a pile in front of the house, was at least picked up. And school had started again after being closed for 2 and a half weeks. And I came across this quote on your site and said my own prayer of gratitude for a life that had returned to everyday norma.
Thanks for your always inspiring blog.

I need to hand write (= own it) that quote and post it to my morning mirror. I've read it before, but need to bring it into my life.
Thanks, Ali.
PS this morning I offered McD's drive-through to anyone who was dressed and down in 15 minutes. Can't sustain that, but good in a pinch.

Yes, we're experiencing the same thing at our house right now, too. It started out as Mr. Morning Challenge with whining and complaining about wanting to go to school. But in the past two weeks it have spiraled down hard into fear, anxiety and angst. It's breaking my heart as I have to peel my crying, hysterical 7 year old off of me every day when I leave the classroom. Yesterday, a friend of mine who works for the National Center for Learning Disabilities recommended a book called "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" by John Mordechai Gottman and Joan Declaire. I ordered it today from Amazon and hope that it has some wonderful words of wisdom and suggestions for helping, we his parents, help him overcome this developmental stage he's going through. From one frustrated mom to another, I wish you good luck in helping Simon through this stage as well.

Ali, you are not alone in this. I have three boys, all in school (2 in middle, 1 in elementary) and two of them have after school sports. I truly believe it boils down to getting back in the schedule again. I read somewhere it takes 21 days to adjust to a new routine. Hopefully for you, me and everyone else out there the smooth sailing will return.

That's such a great quote... thanks for the reminder. My 3-year-old has also been a bit challenging lately and there are days when I wish she would just grow up. But then I realize I really am NOT ready for that to happen too quickly. Thanks so much for sharing...

THANK YOU for the prayer. . .just saying. . .

Love that remarkable life quote. I will hold it near. Thanks for sharing.

this post really resonates with a lot of us, doesn't it?!? you captured it so well with your writing, too - so well done:)
i was wondering - have you asked simon what is bothering him? i know that sounds so silly and basic, but i have found it's often overlooked, especially when the child has special needs...adults tend to talk it over with each other as parents, teachers rather than asking the child if he knows what's wrong. kids have more insight into things than we sometimes give them credit for:) and of course, with children, things show up in their behavior since they don't yet have the ability to identify and express their feelings, concerns. another thing - even just developmentally, they are changing and needing to master different things. i have always found it really helpful to review the typical developmental tasks for each age when i've faced challenges with my two sons. can you tell that i have two sons (7 and 11) with anxiety disorders, both of whom were diagnosed in second grade?!? i'm sorry - i don't mean to write a book - just give you some potentially helpful tips that i've learned:)
and having written all that - i'm fully aware it might be as simple as time of year, fatigue, etc:) i hope so!
mary:)

Blessings on your all for living the ordinary, not perfect, normal days and seeing the grace that's there. It's not always easy especially when we want more from a person than they are able or willing to give. It's hard to know whether it's a can't or won't eiher. But, bottom line is that it is what it is and as I learned when I was in my 40s, a day above ground is a good day and has promise.
Hang in there Mama-Ali!

i think the newness of school wears off much to early!