Moms and Anger: A Blessing in Disguise? Excerpt
Hope all mothers had a wonderful Mothers day! Continuing my series for the month of May is an excerpt from the second book in my Spirituality for Moms kindle series. Enjoy!
WITCH MOM
“Grr,” the alarm goes off. I roll over in bed.
“Mom, it’s time to get up,” little voices echo.
I growl and crawl out of bed. “Out of my way.”
“Oh, no, it’s Witch Mom,” my kids whisper. They know what this means. No fighting, no complaining, no talking above a whisper. My children scurry to and fro, speaking softly while I fumble for a cup of coffee.
My youngest dares to speak, “Mom, how come you never buy sugar cereal?” she whines. Her siblings caution her to be silent, but it’s too late.
“What’s that?!” I turn and snap. “Who dares to talk to Witch Mom?” I raise my hand to cast a spell.
“She didn’t mean it, Mother, really,” my oldest intervenes. I stare at him and head for the sofa while they clear their dishes and hurry to get dressed.
I send them off to school with a quick kiss and another growl. The whole procedure took only half an hour.
The Good Mother may be better liked, but Witch Mom gets results!
(Daily Meditations (with Scripture) for Busy Moms, Oct. l7)
Anger—a blessing in disguise?! You’ve got to be kidding. Tell me that after a day in the car with fighting children when I’d just as soon sedate them all into a false euphoric stupor, or at least myself so I needn’t deal with my own anger at their behavior. Some days I’d much rather do without anger, mine or my children’s.
No one can anger us like our children. It’s precisely because we love them so much, that this love can become enflamed in anger. Love and hate are not polar opposites but two sides of the same coin. Indifference is the opposite of love, and we are far from indifferent to our children, how they behave and their well-being.
As mentioned in the introduction to the first book in this series, almost thirty years ago my life was changed by an earth-shattering event: the birth of my son, followed seventeen months later by the birth of twin daughters. Since then my life has never been the same, it is better. And yet, despite the outpouring of love I had for my children, this love was accompanied at times by anger, anger at their actions, anger at their father, anger at myself and the world. Some days I was strung so tightly that the least little upset would throw me into a downward spiral of anger, followed by guilt for this anger and for being less than perfect at this mothering role. I was the original witch mom.
Yet anger is a gift from God, as are all our feelings, waiting to teach us about ourselves and our world if we are open to it and know how to unwrap this gift. I needed to learn how to unleash the blessings that are part of anger.
Book now available for 0.99 through Amazon kindle. Just click link: Moms and Anger: A Blessing in Disguise?
Other books in series:
Motherhood Stress: It Causes More than a Few Grey Hairs!
Moms and Prayer: Finding Time When There Is No Time
Who Me? Full of Grace? Finding Grace in your Life Journey
And remember to nominate my book, Still Dancing, for Kindle Scout!
Thank you!
I like the idea of trying to find the blessings in all of our feelings. Getting angry at yourself for getting angry at the kids is a never-ending cycle. Be gentle with yourself, your children are relying on it.