Full Circle

I had a moment last week in raising little humans that led me to the realization that a particular part had come full circle. I usually don’t write about specifics when it comes to being a nanny and stay at home mom, but now that I’m in my second go around of toddlerhood, I like to think that I have experienced a thing or two. Don’t hand me a badge just yet, but hang in there for a sec.

While cleaning up toys I found myself cheering on the final three children I have at home. That may seem perfectly normal, and it is with them, but it suddenly hit me when I remembered that not long ago I was doing a much different dance, more like an awkward song of both screaming and crying to get these same toys cleaned up by the older three. I remembered having many moments where I seriously contemplated joining the circus and starting a new life training actual animals. I remembered having many moments where I was performing reverse psychology and questioning everything, rather than happily singing the “clean up song” with my three little divas. Last week’s small gesture reminded me of how far I had come. It reminded me to be thankful for forgiveness  and that these three younger ones didn’t know that version, or that in going through all of that, it had allowed me to grow and learn too. Or perhaps it just broke me. Same diff!

But just when I gained the confidence on instilling responsibility, and believed in having some kind of superpower, leave it to these younger three to open a whole new can of worms on potty training and quickly snap me back to reality...