The Week I Got Totally Owned By My Kids

Going into this weekend, I was coming off one of the toughest weeks I’ve had in a while. My kids OWNED me. My husband had been out of town a lot for work, and the kids were just BAD. I mean BAD. On one of our Target runs, we got to the checkout and my oldest wanted candy. I said no, and he pitched THE biggest fit. We’re talking pushing the cart backward and hitting the customers behind us while yelling at the TOP of his lungs. And I couldn’t scoop him up because I was holding both of his sisters who were also unhappy. Simultaneously, I needed to swipe my debit card so we could GET OUT of there. I paid, and tried to make progress toward the door. I was still holding both the girls, while pushing the mega cart full of groceries and baby brother (who was the only happy one by the way) while trying to calm down my oldest who was pulling at my pants and still screaming about not getting a treat.

I was getting stares upon stares. Finally two women, bless their hearts, came over and offered to help me. One of them took one of the girls and pushed my cart. The other one took my oldest and followed me to my car, and endured his kicking and screaming the whole way.

The entire time, I was literally laughing. Because otherwise I’d cry. It felt like some cruel joke of a nightmare, but no. It was ACTUALLY happening in real life.

After what felt like FOREVER, we got all the kids in the car. I thanked those precious ladies for reaching out and lending a hand. Oh how I wish I had a way of figuring out who they were so I could thank them again for rescuing me. If you are reading this, know that I am truly forever grateful!

That was ONE example of the horror. It was just one of those weeks. And of course, I was constantly vent-texting my husband and telling him how HORRIBLE it was, how I was absolutely drowning, and how I didn’t know if I’d make it to the end of the day. Which then made me feel like a terrible wife for adding stress to his already stressful work week!

On top of everything else, we decided to put our house on the market and getting it “showing ready” every time we leave the house has been the death of me!

By the time Friday rolled around and we had time together, I was spent. I left the house for a few hours to get some work done and loved every minute of it. I came back after regrouping and saw things with a fresh perspective. It’s amazing how a little time away can be just the ticket.

After the kids went to bed, we had a couple glasses of wine, caught up with each other, and the rest of our weekend was much smoother. On Saturday morning we took the whole family out for coffee and cinnamon rolls and actually ENJOYED it. That’s something we never would have dreamed of doing a year ago!

Then later we went to the park. And amazingly enough, Jake and I SAT DOWN on the bench most of the time and watched our kids play. Crazy.

At one point, Emersyn and Mckinley were trying to climb a very tall ladder. With Jake spotting her, she made it all the way to the top and proud as a peacock she yelled, “I did it! I did it!” And then insisted on giving Daddy high fives with BOTH of her hands.

Then she proceeded to come back down to the ground and walked her sister over to the ladder. She then said, “Emmy, you climb up too? I help you?!” She was genuinely excited to help her succeed too.”

It absolutely melted our hearts. And you know what else it did? It reminded me  that despite the hellish week I had, we are in fact making progress. That the repetition and teaching over and over actually makes a difference. It reminded me that my children are looking to me to be an example. And it motivated me to make sure I’m doing everything I can do to be the best version of myself.

And so, as we go into another week, my hope and prayer for each and every one of you is that you would remember how VALUABLE you are. That you would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that every tiny detail that you do for your kiddos is noticed. That your soul would be confident knowing YOU are exactly what they need.

I might have another hard week. That’s just life. But I pray that when it gets tough, I’ll know that it’s only a stepping stone for them to be formed into the people they were created to be.

Let’s help each other up the ladder of life. Let’s not only celebrate our own victories, but help our sisters succeed too.

Let’s look beyond ourselves.

“I help you?!”

XOXO,

Amber

P.S. For more reflections on parenthood and life, follow us on Facebook (Hun Let’s Run) and on Instagram: @ambermariekuiper and @jakekuiper! We’d also love for you to subscribe to our Hun, Let’s Run Podcast! For more info about joining our fitness community as a customer or coach, please email us at amber@mommysmetime.com!