Mornings

This morning was awful.

Just plain awful.

And what's sad is, that many of our mornings are like that.

Getting three children ready in the morning for school is a lot of work, and requires a great deal of patience.

I struggle with patience.  I have always wished I were one of those moms that never raises her voice and never gets impatient with her children, but I fall short here.

Every night before school as I tuck the children into bed, I help them pick out their outfits for school the following day so we are one step ahead when the morning comes.

But when morning comes, there are still tantrums.

Someone will be upset about what is for breakfast.  Someone will be upset about the things I am packing in their lunch.  Someone will change their mind about the outfit we picked out the night before.  Usually one of the girls gets upset about how their hair looks.  Sawyer usually takes a lot of coaxing to wake up, then is groggy and grumpy as he's getting dressed.

And by the time I drop them off to school, there has been so much arguing that I am emotionally beat and cranky because that is not how our mornings should go.

This morning, things started off ok, and then slowly things started escalating for the worse.

On these stressful mornings after I drop them off at school, I feel like the worst mother in the world.  I tell myself I should have been more patient, I shouldn't have raised my voice at them, I should have been more prepared, and on and on…

And then I always think…do my children really know how MUCH I love them when I'm sending them off to school like that?  Telling each of them I love them is always the last thing that leaves my mouth when they exit the car in the drop off lane, but do they REALLY know?

When I got home this morning from dropping them off, feeling sad and discouraged, I knew what I needed to do.

I got down on my knees and asked Heavenly Father for help.  I asked for strength and ideas to help our mornings to go smoother.  I know I can't do this on my own, and that I need divine help from my loving Heavenly Father.

I didn't receive an answer right away because I was still lost in self pity. But soon after, ideas started flooding into my mind.

#1 - I help set the tone for my family.  If I get all frazzled, it's only going to make things that much worse.

#2 - I need to stay more calm, and one helpful way to do that is by starting the morning by dropping to my knees and saying a MEANINGFUL prayer!  I need to be putting on my spiritual armor before I even see them in the mornings.

#3 - I need to buy Sawyer a neat, children's alarm clock so that I am not starting the morning off nagging him and making him frustrated and he can be responsible for getting out of bed himself.

#4 - I need to prepare lunches the night before.  This will free up my time in the mornings so that I can be more available to help them individually, rather than being frazzled about time.  This will also hopefully prevent the tantrums over what is packed in their lunches.

#5 - Discuss with the girls the night before about how we should style their hair and choose the hair accessory that matches their outfit so it's all ready to go.

#6 - Wake everyone up a little bit earlier, which also means that I need to go to bed earlier so it's not as hard for me to get up in the mornings.

#7 - Make time for family prayers in the morning.  This is something that we are not as consistent with, but we really need to be.

#8 - Play spiritual music to help set the tone.  It's hard to get angry when there is spiritual and uplifting music being played.  Music just really helps set a tone, and we can utilize it in a good way that brings feelings of peace to our home.

After all these solutions came flooding into my mind, I also felt Heavenly Father's love for me.  He has so much patience with me, and I need to remember that as I am caring for my/His sweet, precious children. Children are truly a blessing, and I always need to treat them with patience, love, and kindness, just like my Heavenly Father does for me.

I am sharing a video that I have always found to be uplifting.  Watching it always reminds me of my divine role as a mother, and that I have a sacred, special responsibility of raising my children.

Please watch!