Change...

I was listening to something today regarding change and our reluctance as humans to accept change. The speaker was talking to adults on an adult level, but I found myself thinking of my little ones.

Have you ever noticed with your own children that the more things change, the routine, the schedule, the food, the weather, their bodies, the more out of control they seem to get?

Last night we went to a friends house for dinner and got home at 10:00, which is late for us. The kids were a mess! Leaving the friends house our three-year-old was hysterically screaming, "I will never come back." When we got into the garage our six-year-old fell apart because his dad opened the door for him and he wanted to do it. They both lost it when I said straight to bed and screamed, "But we didn't get a snack!." Through all the screaming and tears that it took to get the snack, the teeth brushed, PJ's, and into bed I just kept hearing, "But mom...".

We rocked their world. We did something very out of the ordinary for us- going to a friends house for dinner, they got something very out of the ordinary for them- two hours of Wii, and we all got something hard on anyone- staying up past our bedtime.

Simple changes really. Perhaps if they came separately it could be processed. But unfortunately change seems to come in waves. My grandmother would always say, "Expect the unexpected." It's a great saying. But what does it mean? How do you prepare for what you can not see coming?

Mothers often do it naturally, especially when our children our very young. Hence - The Diaper bag - Dum Dum DUM! We pack everything but the kitchen sink in there. Extra clothes, diapers, wipes, pacifier, blankets, toys, books, bibs, medicine, phone numbers, formula, food, snacks, water, breast pump, burp clothes, ointment, powder, hand sanitizer, and one disposable version of all of the above.

We are ready for a nuclear war. Should WW4 breakout we're covered for a good three days with the supplies in that bag.

Somehow in all of this preparation, we forget to expect the unexpected. At least I do. Then when it strikes I freak. I loose my patience, my temper, my sanity and my poor children see that when change comes you should scream like girl and hide under the covers. No wonder they melt down faster then Chernobyl.

The speaker made some good points to us as adults, as humans to being more accepting of changes. Maybe I can work a little harder at accepting change as a challenge, not a reason to buy a carton of Ben and Jerry's Triple Carmel Chunk. OK, maybe I can keep the Triple Carmel Chunk and skip the screaming like a little girl - I am raising two boys for goodness sake!