Mission Impossible: Cool as a Cucumber

As my sons' eyes turn red and start to tear up, my heart begins to break. I lost my patience once again. I tell myself each night before I go to bed, I will try harder tomorrow not to lose my cool.

I'll start at the beginning. I was rushing around trying to get everything gathered so we could get out of the house on time. In the meantime, my darling Prince opened the fridge and grabbed the chocolate sauce and is asking for chocolate milk. He proceeds to get chocolate on his hands and shirt. Frustrated, and already running late, I bend down look him right in the eye and say "Look at you. You are a mess. Don't move while I get a wipe" Upon my return, he moved from the kitchen to the dark laundry room. I turned on the light and he turned away from me. I bent down and he turned around with red watery eyes and a quivering lip. I wanted to cry on the spot. I pulled my tot in for a giant hug and told him sorry. This was the first time he has reacted this way. I'm guessing he is now comprehending reprimand and I hurt his feelings. Why did I lose my cool over something as small as chocolate sauce? Probably because that wasn't the first disaster of the morning.

I need to start taking lessons from the Man in the Yellow Hat on Curious George. That crazy monkey is always causing chaos and the Man in the Yellow Hat is always so calm, even when George floods their apartment, tears off all the wallpaper in the bathroom or buys 100 dozen doughnuts. He turns those moments into learning opportunities instead. That man is a saint!