a good mommy day

For much of the past week I have been in a bad mood for no good reason. My kids are happy and healthy. They have even been reasonably well behaved lately. The weather has been beautiful. Friends, family and husband are all good.

Sure, politics and the financial markets are a mess. Yes, there is the real fear that my husband could lose his job, the one that provides our one and only paycheck. And the world's fastest, most annoying, impossible to catch fly has been in our house for two days. All worrisome, but my bad mood is not really about any of these things.

It is more general, harder to place and therefore harder to shake.

So I go about my daily routine and I try to snap out of it, try to enjoy my kids. But I am impatient. My enthusiasm is lacking. I don't want to draw letters in the driveway or make a Playdoh snail, not because I have something else I have to do, but just because I would rather not.

But today it finally happened. A good mommy day.

Nothing changed, but everything changed. The stars aligned. Our morning activities and the kids themselves were no different than any other day, but I was happy mommy. I was tolerant. There was no rushing. No impatience. No yelling. As I colored with the girls, I savored the warmth of Claire's little body on my lap. I just smiled at my torn apart bed filled with books when I emerged from the shower. As we drove to Target, I did my best to explain gravity and make the requested animal noises. As we shopped for birthday gifts and Halloween decorations, my own good mood and a couple of bribes ensured the happiness of all.

The afternoon wore on. Despite no naps, both girls had a blast jumping and laughing their hearts out at a birthday party. Finally, they both collapsed in their beds.

A good day. A fun day. A good mommy day at last.