The other day Eliot hopped into his car seat and I closed the door, pulled on my seatbelt, and started on the way to one of our regular drop-off, pick-up, grab-real-quick, errands. “Put on your straps!” I reminded him, and within seconds he was crying and yelling, completely stressed out by the task at hand. “I can’t do it!” he complained. I assured him that he could, in fact, do it, but that he needed to “slow down and try again.” He was still learning, but I was certain he was capable. He slowed down, stopped crying, and after a few minutes of deliberate concentration he had his buckles buckled.
This scenario isn’t uncommon. My kids are regularly rushing to put their shoes on and burst into tears for untied laces. Or picking up the playroom at night and, looking around the room, they become totally overwhelmed by the task at hand and feel like “I can’t do it!” Somehow along the way I developed the mantra that I use to encourage them in their hard times, “Slow down, try again. You can do it.”
I wonder how often I need to remember to offer that same encouragement to myself.
My days have similar-feeling emergencies. With three young kids I can walk away for one second and come back the kitchen covered in flour and mini marshmallows, bathrooms with all the toilet paper unrolled, legos flushed down the toilet, wrestling matches in the hallway, crazy ninja-superhero-cowboys bouncing on the couch and eating on the rug. I look around at these insane times (that happen regularly), and I can feel overwhelmed by the task of motherhood at hand. It can all be too much to do/clean/carry/teach/learn/feed/heal/understand/organize/nurture/love/protect/say/feel. It can help to have something to rely on in these boiling-point moments to feel a sense of calm in the chaos.
When I was pregnant with Plum I was recommended to drink some caffeine to help with my headaches. Later, after she was born and the headaches were gone, I found myself using a daily dose from the drive-thru to get me to the end of the day. At some point in the last few months I decided I wanted to try to separate myself from my dependency on caffeine to relieve my stress, and I was thrilled to discover RESCUE pastilles. Not only are they portable and more simple to have around when I need a boost of calm, but they are natural, non habit forming, and have been trusted for generations.
Life is stressful. Each bring new experiences, unknown adventures, lots of messes and just as many memories. When I am feeling overwhelmed by the weight of it all, I’m going to remember to be kind to myself. To tell myself, “Slow down and try again. You’re just learning, you can do it.”
What types of products or methods do you use to relieve your own stress? I’d love to hear.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
