I Learned That From My 2 Year Olds

Being a mom of twins is so damn hard. Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t change it for the world but it has its challenges and sometimes those little nuggets can break you! But, I whole heartedly believe that being a mom in general is hard whether you have 1 kid 2 kids or 20 kids. Once you become a mother its almost as if you’ve automatically signed a contract that states you will forever put yourself last and take care of these human beings even when you have no clue what you are doing. Sure you can read all the books and every internet article out there that says do this or don’t do that or that’s wrong etc… but no matter what kind of parent I decide to be I’m always learning and being tested and figuring out every little thing as I go. The one thing I wasn’t prepared for was the lessons I would learned from kids. I never knew that two year olds could teach me some of the most important lessons of life. Here I thought I was the one who was supposed to be teaching them when in fact all along they have been teaching me. Here are a few of the lessons I have learned from my 2 year old twins:

1. Celebrate every accomplishment no matter how big or small

My son loves to cheer for himself. He loves to clap and chant and cheer for himself and others and I love seeing the joy on his face when he’s done something worth celebrating. He’s the kind of kid who is really excited about his poop (aren’t most kids?). If he’s had a BIG poop he wants to see it and he will repeat “I see big poop” over and over again until you show him what he’s done. Once he’s seen his accomplishment he throws his hands up in a cheer laughing and screaming BIG POOP!! He is so very proud of himself and frankly so am I. Every day we must find something to celebrate … something we’ve done no matter how big or how small. Even if it is a really good poop.

2. Laughter is good for the soul

Everyone should laugh and smile. Life really isn’t that serious. We make it hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process. The twins laughter is one of the greatest sounds I’ve ever heard. They laugh at everything! The laugh at farts, they laugh when tickled, they laugh when you make funny faces or play hide-and-go-seek … there is not a day that goes by that I don’t hear their laughter and I can say without a doubt it is the most amazing sound.

3. Sometimes you just need a minute

When my daughter is upset she tends to not throw that many tantrums; however you if you are trying to “explain” things to her as to why she should not be doing something she will often look at me and say “I need a minute mom” or “give me two minutes”. This is my warning that she just needs a break from all of us and needs some time to herself. Once she is done with her break she comes back and all is good again. When the days start throwing me crazy curveballs and I’m at my breaking point I’ve learned from daughter that sometimes I just need a minute. Sometimes I need to sit by myself and collect my thoughts and take a deep breath and that’s okay because not every moment of every day is going to be perfect. There are even some days when I need a whole lot of minutes!

4. Whatever you do … do it with every ounce of you

           My daughter has this uniqueness about her in that whatever she does she does it with every ounce of her body. If she’s playing in the dirt she’s covered head to toe in mud. She makes sure every part of her is feeling and touching everything she is doing. If she’s eating M&M’s they are all over her face; it’s almost as if she’s trying to embrace each and every moment without missing out on anything. When it rains she tilts her head back and catches raindrops on her tongue. The girl is in love with life and life is in love with her. She’s taught me that whatever I’m doing I have to give it my all and relish in every moment.

5. Love and be loved

My son is an old soul. His heart is the biggest part of him and he loves so deeply. He may be my tantrum thrower but he’s also my sweetheart. He loves everything and everyone. When you first meet him you may think he’s just being shy when actually he is just taking in every moment; observing every move. He has this sweetness about him that will steal your heart and I love that about him. He has taught me to love everything and everyone and to also accept love in return. This is the one quality my son has that I hope he never loses.