If you happened to notice my absence from posting yesterday, that would be because after sitting down to start working on the piece that I had planned to post (about the best Christmas gifts for 3-5 year old kids), I noticed the house was eerily silent. As the popular saying goes, silence is golden unless you have a toddler, then silence is very, very suspicious!
As I thought to myself, “this can NOT be good,” I got a whiff of the unmistakable smell of nail polish. A very strong whiff of nail polish! Needless to say I had to go find where that smell was coming from. After running around the main floor of the house, not once, but two times, I found my 2-year-old Princess with these beautiful pink and purple toes, nail polish in hand and polish all over her and the carpet, smiling at me with those big blue eyes.
“Mommy, I have pretty toes!”
I’m not going to lie, my first reaction was not one of love, hugs, grace, or telling her that she had pretty toes. It was pure annoyance and wanting to yell. My goal yesterday was to get my work done while everyone else was at school. How was I going to do that now I had a carpet with nail polish mess on it and a 2-year-old with wet nail polish all over her feet?
Luckily, in my near fury, I caught myself before spewing out harsh words and shame (my natural sinful response) and realized that this could be a shameful moment or a grace-filled teachable moment. The Princess only had access to the nail polish because one of her sisters had left it out. All of my girls love to have their nails painted and she was only trying to be a big girl, just like her sisters.
The Princess was acting like a 2 year old. Was I going to act like a Mama expressing grace, or a 2-year-old because I didn’t get MY way? (Not that nail polish on the floor is acceptable, but a tirade of harsh words is NOT acceptable either!) I realized that I really wasn’t angry at the Princess. I was angry at myself. Angry I hadn’t seen the nail polish bag was left out and that she had access to it. Angry that I hadn’t stopped and paid enough attention to notice she wasn’t next to me playing on the floor, and angry at myself that I had put my happiness of writing as a priority above spending quality time with my child.
I saw the above quote by Sally Clarkson not long ago and it really resonated in my heart. How many times have I been cleaning, exercising, cleaning, or doing something else that was on my priority list and one of the children needs me to do something for them? (“Mom, I need a snack! Mom, can you help me with my homework? Mom, can you start a movie?”) This list is endless. I admit, I can easily get annoyed by the distractions! I put this quote on my kitchen window above my sink because I don’t want to be the mom that puts the household stuff above her family.
My children are my most important work. If I don’t put my children above washing dishes, writing, or other tasks that can be done at a different time, my priorities are out of line. No one lives or dies if the blog post gets written, but the Princess isn’t ever going to be just this age of 2 again.
Yesterday I intentionally took the rest of the day off to play and cuddle and spend time with my family. I apologize for not having anything fun to read but because we’re all women who are working on being intentional in one form or another, I’m sure you will understand! Thank you for that! (I am still working on the gift idea list, too! Maybe I should add nail polish to it!)
Has a situation got you angry, irritated, or frustrated? How do you express grace?
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