After hearing laughter and the ruffling of some sort of bag, I peaked over from the kitchen to find Jettie and the twins destroying a box of cereal. For a fleeting moment, I thought about rushing over, scolding Jettie, who obviously had initial custody of the cereal, and taking it away immediately. This instance made me aware of just how much my decision making and perspective has changed after having Jettie and the twins.

You see, in this moment I had a choice to make. I could perceive the cereal incident as a huge mess that I was going to have to clean up. I could be mad at Jettie because she decided to take the cereal without asking, or I could enjoy a moment where no one was crying. I could enjoy the laughter that filled the room. I could enjoy watching Timothy and Erin stare at Jettie in amazement as she flung cereal as high as the ceiling.

It is moments like this that I like to use when people ask me how I do it. How do I keep my sanity while raising 3 kids 2 and under? I pick my battles. I chose to look at a situation and see if it is worth the energy of getting upset over. I chose to look at a situation and see the positives. No I am not one of those bubbly, the glass is always half full kind of people, but marriage and motherhood have forced me to see things differently. It hasn’t been easy, and there are still times when I make snap decisions and get agitated over small things. I still have times when I allow the one negative thing in a situation over shadow the five positives.

Today I could have focused on the bad, and rushed over and taken the cereal away. I could have dwelled on the fact that the cereal was going to be one more thing I was going to have to clean up, but in doing so I would have missed out on the hour of laughter, fun, and pure joy brought on by the cereal shenanigans.

It is all about perspective.

THE END…

#loveyoulikepeaches