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.