How to learn resilience from a toddler
I’m learning so much from my Journey to Joy reading this year but sometimes life’s lessons aren’t wrapped in pretty packages or bound in books! Last week, for example, I had an unexpected lesson in patience and resilience from my two year old.
At 5am I was up and into my yoga gear ready for class after school drop-offs. Our Little Man decided breakfast was for wimps but I knew they’d probably get eaten en route so I tipped his Cheerios into a Tupperware box, threw them in my handbag and we piled into the car – bang on time.
Curly Girl bounced into school quite happily after a few rounds of our Music Together CD from China and I was congratulating myself that the morning was going altogether swimmingly when the inevitable happened.
I tempted fate.
You may recall, if you’ve been a reader here for some time, that the Little Man has what you might call an overactive gag reflex. The slightest catch in his throat as a baby could result in projectile vomiting of the Exorcist variety.
Now that he’s a toddler we’re pretty much through that phase – or so I thought.
There wasn’t much notice for me really as we sped along the country lanes to his nursery school. As I suspected the Cheerios were being eaten heartily in the back seat. Then suddenly one or two little coughs signalled an eruption Mount Vesuvius would have been proud of and with nowhere to stop immediately the poor Little Man just got on with it and emptied his tummy, covering his clothes, car seat and the floor.
When I finally did find somewhere to stop I didn’t really know where to start!
I’ll leave the road-side clean-up to your imagination but suffice to say by the time we got back into the car I was frazzled, smelly and late.
But at nursery, despite being obviously very upset in the car, he bounded in like nothing had happened.
When I finally shuffled into my yoga class, fifteen minutes late, ponging of sick and wired from my speedy journey I wasn’t perhaps in the best frame of mind to channel my inner ommm.
But as I settled into my pigeon pose and breathed out the tension across my shoulders I got to reflecting how quickly and easily my little two year old had shaken off his traumatic morning.
Toddlers don’t dwell in negativity, they pick themselves up and get on with the business of having fun.
And that was a great lesson to learn.
Linking up with Post Comment Love at Verily Victoria Vocalises, Brilliant Blog Posts at Honest Mum
I think that we can learn so much from toddlers you are right. Their lack of fear. Their perseverance. Their ability to pick themselves up and dust themselves off!x
Laura @ Life with Baby Kicks recently posted…The Toddler-o’s Daddy (the Mummy Alternative to The Gruffalos Child)
So very true.
I think we could all learn a thing or two!.
Glad little man was ok though.
Great post
Jayne @ SMABL recently posted…Happy 5th Birthday to my Little Man
Thanks Jayne! Yep he was fine – bounced right back!
Such a great lesson to learn. It can be very difficult sometimes though. #sharethejoy
That’s definitely a lesson about picking yourself up again – hope you managed to relax at yoga and ignore the sickly pong. And it brings new meaning to your afternoons in the car too – hope it’s getting a good airing !
Stephanie recently posted…Cycle Routes: April