my stubborn two year old

Yesterday I was humbled by the goodness of a stranger and the words of a friend.

   It was a typical day for Milo and I. We went to Sonic for lunch, she got her corn dog and I got my Diet Dr. Pepper then off to the grocery store we went. I had no idea what I was in for as soon as we parked the car. Milo had a meltdown worse than any other meltdown she’s had, I couldn’t get her into the cart and she was screaming and crying before we could even get into the store. I decided to just go in any way, hoping that being on the move would give her some distraction from the crying and screaming. Boy was I wrong; it all went downhill from there. She managed to break her sonic cup causing it to spill water all over the ground, she bonked her face on the cart handle (which resulted today in a bruise on her cheek), and had everyone stopping to stare at us. Two little girls and their mom came up to ask “what’s wrong with her?”, so that was fun. Then this cute lady said “oh I remember those days, don’t worry, we all go through it”. But by that point I had tried every trick in the book, I tried calming her down and she was even holding my phone with Cinderella playing but that didn’t even work. I hustled away from the lady after making very small talk because I noticed I started to have tears well up in my eyes. I finally made it to the cashier with only cereal boxes marked off of my never-ending shopping list. As soon as I got to the lady she looked at me and asked how old Milo was. I then told her she was two and her response was “ohhhh the terrible two’s, I’m so glad I don’t have kids”. I was too sad and overwhelmed to even say anything back to the lady and at this point Milo was nearly throwing up she was crying so hard. By the time I made it outside I was full-blown crying. I felt defeated at that point and on top of that my pregnancy emotions weren’t letting me hold back. I buckled Milo into her car seat and got a few smacks in the face while doing so. As I was going to put the cart away this cute biker-looking lady came up to me and gave me a big hug. She said “don’t worry, you’re a great mom! You’re doing your best and that’s good enough”. How sweet was she?! I looked into the sky with the thought “heaven help me” while grabbing my belly and said “and I have another one on the way”. She was trying to comfort me more and was so incredibly kind but at that point I jumped into my car and drove away sobbing. Milo and I were two hott messes together but that ladies kindness was everything to me. I wish I could tell her now with a normal, non-hysterical face, just how much it meant to me. Oh and I failed to mention that Milo was wearing a princess dress and purse while all of this was going down so my child had Diva written all over her.

   I got home, shed a few more tears and put Milo down for a nap (apparently a nap is what she needed most because she slept for three and a half hours!). I text a few of my friends jokingly and asked if anyone wanted a two-year old as I told them the story. I wish I could put the group text on here because it was hilarious, all of us venting about different meltdowns our kids have had. One friend (Holly Banks) said something that really stuck with me. She said, “these feisty kids can be rough to teach, but when I think about what they have to face in this world I think they came like stubborn fighters for a reason. Us moms are here to turn those traits into their biggest strengths!”. It’s so true! I loved everything she had to say because I think of what our kids are going to have to face in the future and I can’t imagine the trials and choices they are going to have to make on their own. I guess you could say I more than ever am grateful for Milo’s stubborn personality and honestly I can’t blame her, I know she got it from me. When I told my mom about what happened she laughed at me because Milo has always been this angel baby so I’m completely out of my comfort zone during her meltdowns.

   Kids are such a blessing and such a learning lesson. I honestly can say I’m grateful for her meltdown yesterday because it taught me so many things. For example, it taught me to simply be a better person and kinder towards strangers. I got hugged by a random lady today and loved it! I love everything about being a mom, the ups and the downs. Some days my daughter is the funniest, sweetest person on the planet. Other days Milo’s up for only an hour and she’s sent to timeout. You never know what each day is going to bring but that’s the glory of being a mom! Like my biker lady told me, “you’re doing your best and that’s good enough!” Amen sister.

The  selfie I sent to my friends showing them my smudged mascara from crying and letting them know their stories and my DDP was making things better