Mommy Needs a Meltdown

Why can’t I have a meltdown?

This is something I often wonder when I watch Stella, who is almost 3 years old, emotionally crumble when something doesn’t go her way.
 The "terrible twos" stage continues. The other day I watched her sob uncontrollably in a hunched over position after she learned that there were only orange popsicles left in the freezer.

Sometimes I want to hunch over and sob uncontrollably over things. Times in our household are not easy since we closed our retail store down at the end of last year. This has hit our pocketbooks, and our savings, which meant to supplement my income during child care leave, is dwindling away faster than we hoped.

Why can’t I just have one little meltdown?

My Meltdown Prevention Program -
finishing a half marathon last Sunday

In a world where being emotionally stable is a must, I wonder how others get through the tough times. As a parent, it is so important to model emotions in a healthy way. We need to teach our children how to be resilient and handle disappointment and frustration with a grain of salt. But sometimes, don’t we just want to scream at the top of our lungs?

I rarely cry. I keep it inside and let it build up until it eventually explodes. It maybe explodes once a year. Since our store has closed, perhaps a little more frequently.

Parents are supposed to be the “strong ones” and that just makes it even more important for us to have an outlet. Something we can do or someplace we can go to let it all out.

For me it is running. The one thing I can do on my own, in silence, alone with my thoughts. We all need a place like that. It keeps me from going into meltdown mode … most of the time.

Keeping Stella Too Busy?

As a teacher, I have always felt bad for my students who would tell me that their afternoons and evenings were full of lessons and practice. Some of them literally would moan and groan about how they wouldn't get home until 8 pm from one thing or another. I vowed to never do that to my children.

Fast forward to having a two-and-a-half year old who wants to do EVERYTHING! Anything she sees she wants to do. So I thought I was being a good mommy when I took her to Mommy and Me swim lesson and a year old and allowed her to continue with swim lessons to this very day.

What are they doing?! (In the blue)

I found a Parent and Me soccer class through our local park program and since Stella loves kicking the ball around I enrolled us in it. It was a perfect chance to get her exposed to the premise o the game and give her a chance to run around with other kids on a Saturday morning. This was a six week class that she enjoyed.

Not long ago, Stella began to express interest in gymnastics and dance. She actually asked if we could take her to do those two things. I decided inctead of re-enrolling her for soccer, we would find a dance class through the park system to let her try out. She started the class last week and loved it.

I wonder if I am exposing her to too much. Is it that or am I doing the right thing by letting her try one thing out at a time to see what she likes? Can I make sure I don't turn into that parent that has her kids in five different activities a week?

I think as long as she is having fun and I am keeping her in her weekly swim lesson and maybe one other activity we should be good. I hope I am helping shape a well rounded young lady and not an extra curricular monster!

Check out the video of her! Hilarious!

Stella's First Dance Class