I took Ethan on a trip for two and a half weeks and ended up being the most unreasonable I have ever been as a mom. I was not fair to Ethan. Here is the background:
I put him in the car at 1:30 a.m. for a two-and-a-half hour drive to the airport. We then flew standby and took crazy routes to reach our destination. We were on three flights, one was 4 1 /2 hours long, and he did not step foot off of an airplane for more than a couple of minutes until we reached our destination. There was a two hour time difference when we got there. Ethan's normal schedule was a mess. He was not comfortable enough to take naps at a house he did not recognize. Traveling is tough for a toddler.
I put this boy through a lot and THEN expected him to be on his best behavior. I was expecting perfection (bleh). I knew it was not fair before the discipline; I knew it afterwards. Why was I yelling so much? Why did he get so many time-outs? Why didn't I try to be more understanding and focus on fixing the actual problems? I felt guilty. What a terrible feeling that I wanted to get rid of!
I was thinking about the atonement of Jesus Christ and all of the times that I wanted to throw away my sins and erase them, as if they had never happened (Jer. 31:34). "Behold he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more" (D&C 58:42). I knew the power of the atonement was real and that, whether the sins are small or big, they can be washed away through the Savior’s help. I knew it was true and I was ready to ask the Savior to help me again. I plan to ask for His help as often as possible.
My family was blessed to attend a fireworks show with musical performances from Carrie Underwood. She is amazing, by the way. She sounds just as good (if not better) in person as she does on CD’s! One of the songs she sang was about a tornado wiping out a home. I thought of the house as sin and then some of the words from the chorus resonated with me:
Shatter every window ‘til it’s all blown away,
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
‘Til there’s nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday
…Blown away
Once again, I have felt the power of the atonement change me for the better. I can leave the past behind and reach closer to the person I want to become. I am thankful that the Savior gave us this all-encompassing gift.
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18). I know repentance works. I know it will work again. Oh, how I’m thankful that every sin can be blown away.
I put him in the car at 1:30 a.m. for a two-and-a-half hour drive to the airport. We then flew standby and took crazy routes to reach our destination. We were on three flights, one was 4 1 /2 hours long, and he did not step foot off of an airplane for more than a couple of minutes until we reached our destination. There was a two hour time difference when we got there. Ethan's normal schedule was a mess. He was not comfortable enough to take naps at a house he did not recognize. Traveling is tough for a toddler.
I put this boy through a lot and THEN expected him to be on his best behavior. I was expecting perfection (bleh). I knew it was not fair before the discipline; I knew it afterwards. Why was I yelling so much? Why did he get so many time-outs? Why didn't I try to be more understanding and focus on fixing the actual problems? I felt guilty. What a terrible feeling that I wanted to get rid of!
I was thinking about the atonement of Jesus Christ and all of the times that I wanted to throw away my sins and erase them, as if they had never happened (Jer. 31:34). "Behold he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more" (D&C 58:42). I knew the power of the atonement was real and that, whether the sins are small or big, they can be washed away through the Savior’s help. I knew it was true and I was ready to ask the Savior to help me again. I plan to ask for His help as often as possible.
My family was blessed to attend a fireworks show with musical performances from Carrie Underwood. She is amazing, by the way. She sounds just as good (if not better) in person as she does on CD’s! One of the songs she sang was about a tornado wiping out a home. I thought of the house as sin and then some of the words from the chorus resonated with me:
Shatter every window ‘til it’s all blown away,
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
‘Til there’s nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday
…Blown away
Once again, I have felt the power of the atonement change me for the better. I can leave the past behind and reach closer to the person I want to become. I am thankful that the Savior gave us this all-encompassing gift.
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18). I know repentance works. I know it will work again. Oh, how I’m thankful that every sin can be blown away.