Fatigue

Fatigue is a terrible thing. I still remember my zombie days after giving birth to my second child. Thinking straight is so hard to do when one hasn't had enough sleep. Not to mention driving straight and talking straight. And it's very bad for interpersonal relationships.

This morning we got up much earlier than usual so we could go see the hot air balloons launch at Colorado Balloon Classic. It was fun and impressive, but now we have a day of fatigued Mommy and children ahead of us. About an hour ago, I lost my patience with my dd4, who kept pestering me to help her make a boat pop-up. I thought I'd already done what she asked and instead of "seeking to understand", I raised my voice at her and told her to leave me alone. Then dd2 damaged dd4's work in progress, and tears and frustration erupted from both of them. Mother really does set the tone of the home. I realized what I'd done and apologized, explaining I was tired and shouldn't have yelled. With some more tears, dd4 forgave me, and I helped her make a new pop-up boat. I even got into the crafting mood and made a pop-up pumpkin patch for dd2 to play with. Now the two are sharing their pop-ups with each other. Whew. Learning moment for me. Early naps today for all!