Deep breaths....

This photo takes me back to a day where I struggled as a mom. We had just driven 6 hours with 5 kids and they all wanted to hit the beach before we even unpacked at the beach house. Mr. Fun being the fun dad he is we ended up at the beach, the burb still loaded up with packed suitcases, sand toys and beach chairs. I agreed on one condition, that condition seemed reasonable to me. I told the kids we could walk along the beach but we were not getting wet. I told the kids they could get their feet wet but not their clothes, we still had to go eat and hit the grocery store before heading to the beach house to unpack and settle in for the week. I was feeling really proud of myself, I was going with the flow and allowing the kids to determine what we did. Everyone was getting along, excited to be near the ocean, and feel the sand between their toes.
Everything was going great, we were laughing, only getting our feet wet, enjoying the salt air on our skin. That is when it all went wrong. It was in slow motion for me. T went down, he was in too far and the sand gave way under his little feet and down he went. He was soaked up to his neck. This is when I wanted to lose it, and I think I might have for a moment. All the thoughts of digging for his dry clothes in a buried suitcase and changing him in the back of the burb just stressed me the fuck out.
This is when T blurts out that he was sorry and then says "but the wave knocked me down on purpose."

I couldn't help but laugh, we all couldn't help but laugh. This was a lesson that sometimes things seem worse than they are. Mr. Fun put his arm around me, as he squeezed me shoulder, he said "come on, you can't be upset, that was funny". He was right, it was funny, and in the end unpacking half the burb to reach his little suitcase and the baby powder wasn't as difficult as I imagined. The burb still remained neatly packed when it was all over.

T ate dinner in dry clothes and managed to not lose his flip flops; in the end it wasn't that big of a deal. It turned out to be a memory we still talk about, often.
I remind myself of this day when I feel myself getting uptight and edgy over circumstances out of my control. I remind myself that it's life, it's going to throw you curve balls. I like to think this makes me a better mom, a mom that doesn't get her panties in a knot over something nobody has control over. Sometimes accidents are just accidents and there is no reason to yell or point blame.

Deep breaths and looking at the bigger picture makes for a happier life.