Attitude is EVERYTHING

This blog post is dedicated to all the moms who have toddlers sleeping with them and, exhausted from a rather sleepless night, need some encouragement and a way that might help them to keep a good attitude...

Last night my 8-year-old daughter slept comfortably between my hubby and me while I was trying to get some sleep on a tiny ledge of mattress space next to her. Needless to say neither me, nor my hubby got a lot of sleep. But it did remind me of a diary entry I made many years ago. My daughter had just been born then and my son was still regularly sleeping in our bed. Here is what it said:

“Tonight I am flying FIRST CLASS! You are almost 6 years old; that’s almost 2190 sleeps of which you spent at least 2170 in our bed. Many times I felt cramped and thought that our bed is just not big enough for the three of us, especially when I was pregnant. But then I always remember the privilege of having you near and I try and put things into perspective like this…I close my eyes and imagine myself in the Economy class seat of a Boeing 747, cramped yet excited about the journey. You must know that I traveled a lot in my early twenties. Every time I ended up tossing and turning the whole night through, trying to do the impossible - finding a comfortable position while only slightly reclined, legs pressed against the seat in front of me or if I was lucky enough to get a window seat, rested against the fuselage of the plane. The result was always the same - a stiff neck and an aching body the next morning. But once, I was lucky enough to fly First Class on the upper deck of a Boeing 747 and I remember what that felt like too. It was a feeling of utter luxury to be able to stretch out almost flat and rest in a horizontal position on this particular journey. Narrow, yes, but horizontal nonetheless and stretched out in full length. The result was marvelous of course, despite the limitations of the seat, the journey was so much more restful and all the more exciting. And so you see…when I feel cramped by all of us sharing this space, somewhat like sardines in a tin…I close my eyes and rest my body and my mind, knowing that tonight I AM flying FIRST CLASS again.”

So my encouragement for anyone this week will have to be - let’s keep a good attitude! We are on a journey and it’s not always a comfortable one, but just try to put things into perspective and you might find that you are actually flying "First Class" too. Happy flying this week mom! :)

(Photos are my own)