Refilling the Tank

assuage (uh-SWAYJ) /v/  to make milder or less severe. to reduce the intensity. to soothe or calm. to pacify.

1. After my post the other day about the choice to be a mother and eluding to the daily entropy, I thought I would post the good news. 

Today I woke to this.

We have two bowls; Spider man and Super man. It's a morning ritual to race to the table first to get the Spider man bowl. The significance of this picture is that Matthew actually made it to the table first this morning, yet here is the Spider man bowl untouched. 

My bet is he knew my limit was reached, so he left the bowl to assuage the ensuing screams that would surely melt me into a heap on the kitchen floor.

2. Do you want to know how to assuage a toddler? Walk home with him from preschool in the rain. It's a short distance and at least he won't cry or kick you. His request was innocent, and even though I wondered if I'd have to call for pickup half-way through, we enjoyed ourselves all the way home.

3. After the walk I took a nap.  Who wants to admit they need a nap?  I took it anyway because I could today. It rained and Tom stayed home to spend time with Matthew. I figured he deserved to stay home from school after continuously staring out the window for 9 days straight waiting for Tom's return to assuage his loneliness.

4. Travis didn't seem to mind Tom being gone because he was busy pushing all my buttons and wearing me down moment by moment testing every barrier of entry into my failure as a mother, including the most common I'm scared of my bed routine after ten o'clock at night.

Well.

I guess the anticipation of reprieve came at last, assuage always well deserved. Tom offered to go grocery shopping for me. Ah! 

And then.

5. Matthew came to ask me what I wanted, he was picking up 4 other things on his own personal list. He planned on getting chocolate for Makayla, specifically m&m's, and pink gum for Travis (oh I hope it's sugar free). Now that I've been on my exercise and restrictive eating for 4 days, I couldn't think of one approved thing to assuage my cravings.

Don't worry Mom, you don't have to think of anything. I know just what I'm going to get for you. What followed next filled my exhausted tank overflowing and it was Travis' soft cheek next to mine followed by his own words, I love you SO much mom. Hold.

Then, this.

How did he know sugar-free gum would assuage me during this time of restraint? Of course, he knows. Of course.

6. One last word on this. A little random. Travis earned this special honor for being a terrific kid last week. 

His dinner selections included waffles, fruit by the foot, and home-made syrup. Then at the last minute he added apples to presumably disguise the dinner for what it was and possibly assuage the effects of a very unhealthy meal.