Daily Klutz - Audrey Has a Rough Day

Audrey had a tough day today.  Her emotions were strong and there was a general unwillingness to listen.  I know I share a lot about my daughter and that the majority of it is incredibly flattering.  But she is human, like us all, and has her days, her flaws and her human-ness. I doubt that anyone didn't realize that, I just like to keep it real on here since so much of what we see on any kind of "social" media is often only a fraction of the story.  We struggle as parents and lose our own footing from time to time as well.  It's so incredibly hard, made especially harder in this very crazy time.  

So she had a not so great day yesterday.  There were a lot of tears and sheer frustration when things couldn't go her way.  At one point, when she was beginning to put up a fight, I reached out to her and held her close.  Her entire body melted in my arms and I just said "some days are hard.".  She cried and cried.  It's that way sometimes isn't it?  Some days ARE just hard.  And some days we just need to feel that way and cry.

She said before she went to bed that she was going to "try and have a better day tomorrow."  I told her that I believed her.  Wholeheartedly. 

So tonight, I wrote this note to her from Klutz, reminding her that her kindness, while it must extend towards others, must also continue to extend towards herself.  I think this is a message we so quickly and easily forget.  Perhaps we were never really taught it.  But being kind to yourself is imperative.  It can also be hard.  It does take effort and attention and time.  There is simply no getting around that.  Too often we forsake the effort, attention and time it takes because we think there is something more important, more pressing.  Feeling my daughters body in my own arms, sobbing away tonight reminded me, there is nothing more pressing than being kind to ourselves when we are IN our feelings. We are always in an emotion, but we know those moments when they arise and take center stage.  Those are the moments to be the most kind to ourselves.  That is when we need to have our tools on hand to turn to and guide ourselves through with kindness and with love.  I'm working on something to do just that for us adults.  But for now, I will be over here helping my daughter build her own toolbox via Klutz The Elf.