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Good, Bad, and Ugly

 Let me start by saying, I love my kids.  I love them.  And I will destroy anyone who tries to harm them in any capacity.  Including myself.  

That aside, some days with the kids are rough.

Have you ever gotten to the end of an exhausting day and sat down to realize it's only noon? 

Each hour crept by as one kid after another tried my patience in their own special way.  Even now, at bedtime, one little bitty is sitting in my lap, refusing to sleep - the icing on the cake.  I couldn't listen to another second of yelling today.  I've had my quota and I've done my quota.  I'm not proud.  

The timeouts in the last twelve hours were abounding, the extra chores plentiful, swats were served, and it was truly just an ugly day start to almost finish.  Plus, I was out of chocolate and ice cream which wasn't helping anyone.      

At the end of the day, I felt like a huge failure.  But somehow, the kids didn't see me that way.  At the end of the day, the babies still wanted me to hold them and the big kids still wanted to play a game with me.  They each wanted a turn to sit on my lap and do some reading.  The boys both wanted me to prove that their cheeks were still "kissy" and they hadn't outgrown me yet.  They told me they loved me, and I returned it.  

My house is thrashed, my sweatshirt ripped, my energy gone, but the day ended with us playing games, having some cuddle time, and praying over our choices tomorrow.   I'm not sharing this for sympathy, support, likes, comments or anything else.  I just want to put it out there that we all struggle, and this life is not easy.  These rough days don't feel good, but they don't define us.  Tomorrow is a new beginning.  

Keep the faith, Friends.  


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