Dealing with hard things

(Written 10/22/14)

This morning.

I mentioned at breakfast that we could get ready fast and have time to play on the preschool playground before school started. Something we've only done once, but intend to do more often.

We couldn't get ready fast enough, and in the car I had to let him down- no time for swinging before school. He was really upset, asked me to do a U turn, said he was sick and needed to go home. Said he WILL NOT go to preschool today.

He was mad, because he didn't get what he hoped for.

Wheels are spinning in my mind as we drive down the road- 'how can I fix this?' I feel all the weight of responsibility for this child and how he relates to the world in every moment. And I remembered- just let him be mad for a minute.  He's allowed to be mad, and he always comes around surprisingly fast. I've learned that in our family dynamics- just let them be mad for a minute, and they'll usually come back around. (Such a relief that you can just STOP fighting it and wait...)

Not even 3 minutes later, we arrived, me wondering what this upset toddler was going to do as we approached carpool line, with a teacher coming to escort him out of the car. Is he going to run away? Are we about to cause a scene here? He's asking if we can go swing for ONE minute, but it's after 9:30.

I asked if he wanted me to walk him in, or do carpool line as usual.

Of course, the little dear snaps back to his usual self. "Do carpool line," he says. And calmly says goodbye as he exits the car with the teacher and walks in the building as if nothing happened.

And driving away, I felt so proud of him. He didn't get his way, and I think that's hard! I quite often feel like I don't get my way, and I get mad about it. But this sweet boy went through it, and came out again.

And I knew, if I feel proud of my 3 year old for walking through that little thing... our Father feels the same about us. He feels compassion for the hard things we go through, because he knows. He knows what it feels like. Just like I knew what it felt like for Arthur, He knows on an infinitely larger scale.