Mama said there would be days like this.......but not like that

We all know when we have kids that we will have days we are just dog tired from being up most of the night, the laundry will never end, changing poopy diapers in the middle of the mall will become second nature, and doing the 'carseat dance' is something designated to the daddies.Some of us even have memories of our own childhood when we knew we were impossible to love or can recall siblings hurting our parents to the point of tears by their wreck less behavior. Why is it that I feel so alone when I am in one of those parenting situations? When my son is crying in the shower, screaming for a dry washcloth and I am already soaked to my shoulder from reaching in to direct him in washing his hair. When I tell my daughter she cannot have her favorite stuffed animal at night because she disobeyed. When all I want to do is grab my child and cry with them and cuddle them to sleep, but I can't because I want to teach them right from wrong. I will admit, sometimes the punishments hurt me just as much or more than it affects them. Like when I take away the TV. Sounds great in theory, but when I need half an hour to finish supper without three kids swarming the kitchen, it just makes sense to turn on the TV. Or how about the impulsive "I am not taking you anywhere while you act like that!" This statement is why we don't have any bread in the house today. The kids don't care-they will eat chicken and star soup or buttered noodles, but nothing starts a craving like a grocery list. These are situations that I'm pretty sure most of us have experienced, but very few of us talk about. I put my son to bed early tonight, the whole time he was crying and asking for dessert and a movie, to play a board game, anything to grab at the possibility that he would get to stay up. I managed to stay calm and get him through the shower, into pajamas and physically had to brush his teeth for him. He is in bed now, and I am exhausted. It's not the end of the story, I still have his two sisters to get into bed by myself, all the while praying for guidance and thankful for a clean slate by morning. That's something  else no one brings up in parenting conversations. Our kids will completely forgive us for what happened today, fall into a gentle sleep where they look so peaceful and wonderful, and start tomorrow over as if today was the perfect day. As I make my rounds tonight from one room to the next, covering them and kissing them goodnight again, I will vow to make tomorrow better, knowing that better may only last until breakfast.