Day in Review

I sat down this morning with my Bible, a notebook, and a cup of coffee, overwhelmed with what faced me today. Nora had been up during the night for close to an hour, so I was starting the day ragged and discouraged. I needed some wisdom, and I needed to set some priorities for the day.

My priority for Phoebe was some specific training. We're ready for her to start joining us in church, so I wanted to make time today for that training. But we're also in a little bit of "out of town detox", so I needed to make sure I was really consistent with discipline today, too.

I probably should've known today would be a long one with discipline as a top priority, right?

Well, the sit training went better than expected. I'm always excited to see Phoebe exceed my expectations for her, and this was one of those situations. But things pretty much went downhill from there.

Nora hit a growth spurt today, which meant she wanted to eat. All day long. In large quantities. At unpredictable intervals. Whee! Fortunately, growth spurts only last for a few days, right?

But I think the hardest part of the day was the standoff after naptime. Remember the priority for the day was training? Yeah. She wasn't allowed to get out of bed until she said, "Please." After an hour and a half, Phoebe finally obeyed.

Y'all, we partied like nobody's business. I was in the middle of feeding Nora, but we dropped everything to celebrate her obedience. And as frustrating as her hard-headedness was, it made her eventual obedience that much sweeter. I was delighted to see her submit, and we were quickly restored.

And that made it all worth it.

The day eventually ended with a peaceful suppertime, and cuddles on the couch with the first half hour of Mary Poppins. But friends, I am tired. Parenting is so not for sissies.