Overwhelmed

Quote: Andy Dwyer, Parks & Rec, Pic: Buzzfeed

Lately I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed: the frustration that is family court, finances, taking care of a child on my own, dealing with the puppy, classes resuming and work picking back up now that summer has ended, etc.

I'll be the first to admit that patience is not my strongest quality. Whining drives me nuts. I get overly irritated when the dog pees on the floor. Ironically, I've been told I have the "patience of a saint" at work for being able to put up with my boss. Maybe it's the fact that although he behaves unreasonably sometimes, I'm able to actually communicate with him? I can explain to my boss why his request is unrealistic or why he's being overly difficult. I cannot, unfortunately, explain to the dog why the carpet is not an acceptable place to urinate. I just have to teach and reinforce consistently, and hope she gets it eventually. Same with Audrey. Well, Audrey doesn't pee on the carpet. Anymore. But I have to explain why whining is not the way to get what you want over and over again. I have to repeat requests multiple times sometimes, and then explain why this is not ok. Although bedtime rolls around every day, I still have to deal with the inevitable "Noooo! Please five more minutes!" (I have started giving several warnings leading up to bedtime and have found that helps).

I have to remind myself to take a deep breath when I want to freak out. I have to remind myself not to stress over the small stuff. I have to remind myself that my kid is happy, healthy, and has everything she needs and then some. I have a good job, a nice home in a great neighborhood, a life I've built for myself. I need to remember to pat myself on the back once in a while. I may have dived into this motherhood thing totally unprepared, without a clue as to what I was doing, but I'm clearly doing something right. So although I do need to continue to work on my patience, I shouldn't beat myself up over feeling overwhelmed occasionally.