I recently had a very frustrating day with the kids where something in them decided to turn off their listening ears. We had a busy day packed with swim lessons, a quick dinner, and a trip to watch my niece play her soccer game. Everything started off fine and the swim lessons went well. That’s where things went haywire.

Before showering, I told my 5 year old daughter and 3 year old son to make sure we use our listening ears so we can shower quickly. We needed to eat and head over to the soccer field, so there was no time to waste. In the shower, they decided to play, jump, fight, grab everything, and would not settle down to make the process go smoothly. By the end of it, I was so frustrated at them that I told them if they couldn’t shape up, we wouldn’t go to the soccer game. When we got out of the shower, I had to take a break from the kids to collect myself and we all ate dinner together. Luckily there was no more incidents and we ended up watching the soccer game with the kids enjoying themselves.

What I will remember most from this day was after the soccer game, we all went on the field to take pictures. My kids were running around with their cousins and having a blast. Then I asked my 3 year old son if he wanted to race from one end of the field to the other, goal to goal. Of course he said yes and we sprinted off. He was actually faster than I would have expected at the longer distance and got to the other goal just fine. Then we did it a few more times with my daughter and their cousins jumping in. Everyone was running wild and it was a light moment in a much heavier day. I’m glad we had that time where all of us were running on the field because that’s what I will remember most instead of all of the frustration beforehand. Life will be full of frustration if you let it happen, but finding the pockets of times to let it go will only help move things forward in a more positive way!