mornings, pt. 2

Is it something in the moon cycle? Do darker mornings also mean darker moods for Banana?

This morning, I was up and let Reilly out earlier than usual. I was on target for a morning where everything was pulling together, and then Banana woke up. From the get-go, she was cranky. Considering she'd been cranky the night before, I was a little disappointed that ten hours of rest hadn't reset her mood switch. Nonetheless, her crankiness kicked off another stressful morning. She decided she didn't like the new rice milk I'd bought over the weekend. She didn't want yogurt. It was cold. Her leg hurt. Her stomach hurt. She didn't want to take a shower before she ate.

Unfortunately, I had to play the role of both good cop and bad cop. The good cop was understanding and sympathetic and offered to make oatmeal. The bad cop had to threaten to cancel dinner with our friends this evening. In the end, everything worked out. We made it to school a little later than I'd hoped, and Banana was very helpful in getting stuff out of the house.

I did, however, have to sit and breathe for a few minutes after I'd dropped her off. The stress of it all had taken its own life in my head and back. Raising kids is stressful enough, but when you're the only parent and you have to play every role at all times... well... it seems like every positive, wonderful moment has the possibility of dropping precipitously into a minefield of frustrations.